What if?
by Henriy
Summary: What happened if Nick had succeeded and Will had given up his parental rights. In my story, the situation in the hospital did happen, but besides the people who were in that room (Sonny, Sami, EJ, Lucas, Nick and Will) and Gaby nobody knows that Will is the father of Gaby's baby. The Wedding disaster didn't happen – Nick and Gaby are married.
1. Chapter 1

My first Fanfic (please be kind) it's even in a foreign language. Please review so I know someone actually reads what i write here ...

What happened if Nick had succeeded and Will had given up his parental rights. In my story, the situation in the hospital did happen, but besides the people who were in that room (Sonny, Sami, EJ, Lucas, Nick and Will) and Gaby now that Will is the father of Gaby's baby. The Wedding disaster didn't happen – Nick and Gaby are married.

The chapters might be short. I wanted to write a one shot, but it got a bit longer then expected.. :D

Nick could not believe what he read on the paper in his hand. He could not believe his plan turned out just as he predicted. Will signed his parental rights away.

Not willingly though but still. Nick had everything in check. He would be the father to Gaby's daughter. And he would do everything to keep his child away from Will. Away from Sonny and their lifestyle.

Now he just had to break it to Gaby. Had to tell her that Will did not want custody. And that would be the hardest part.

The door swung wide open, as Nick went into the hospital room, where Gaby was about to pack her stuff into the pink bag lying on the bed. She didn't not hear him or at least didn't turn around.

„Gaby? Honey?" His voice was soft and calm. So different from the voice he used just minutes before when he confronted Will and Sonny.

Gaby turned around and Nick took at a deep breath at the look at her face. Her eyes were swollen and red, smaller than usual. Her cheeks were burning. She looked terrible.

Nick was concerned. What had happened to his wife? Who was responsible for this?

Gaby sat down next to her bag and pushed her hair away.

„Will texted.", she said.

Nick nodded though he did not know whether her heard her right. Will already texted her? What would've he texted her about? Nick just hoped it would not about him.

„He gave up custody." She looked straight into his eyes. „What did I do? Why is he rejecting his baby? I know that we had a bad start, but i love him."

Nick breathed out, disturbing the short silence but nevertheless Gaby went on.

„I still love him and I want him to be around us."

The thoughts in Nicks mind ran wild. His stomach turned around at the thought of two faggots raising a child. Any child would be bad, but especially Gaby's.

Nick raised his arm, layed his hand on Gaby's shoulder and pulled her in. Again and again he stroke her back until she had stopped crying.

Her face lay in his collarbone and he whispered in her ear.

„Maybe it's for the best." He thought Gaby would rage at that sentence but she kept quiet. Maybe she hadn't heard him. He mouthed a thank you in the empty room.

„Let's go, honey. Let's go." Nick grabbed her bag with the one and the baby with his other. With strong, determined steps he went out of the room, hearing Gaby's quiet, sad steps coming up right behind his.

His hand turned the cold door knob around, pushing the door open. He purchased the new apartment with money borrowed by his brother-in-law Rafe Hernandez but he wouldn't tell Gabi about that. He was eager to keep the picture up, that he was able to feed his family now. Back in his head he knew that Will and Sonny could've provided more money for Gabi and her daughter. Just with the savings of the families Horton and Kiriakis, of course, but still.

He put his daughter in her crib, looking around in the room. He painted it bright pink, with crowns and princesses all of the walls. And that is what this little girl, sleeping in the crib was – a princess. His own, wonderful princess. And like princesses he would protect her from the darkness and the monsters of this world. That included Will and Sonny.

When he closed the door to the child's bedroom, he saw Gabi sitting down on the sofa, rubbing her forehead as if she had a headache.

"Honey, dear.", he said, sitting down beside her. "You should go to bed. You seem tired." He kissed her on the cheek, before he was standing up and going into the kitchen. He turned on the kettle and looked to the wall, fixating on the clock. It was half past 10 in the evening but he didn't feel it. He knew he couldn't sleep now, even if he went to bed. He was too awake to close his eyes and dive away to his dreams.

Suddenly something vibrated in his pocket and pulled him out of his thoughts. He took his phone out and saw on the caller I.D. that it was Will. For a second he thought about not answering but he did anyway.

"What do you want?"

The voice on the other end wasn't Will's but he recognized it instantly.

"I wanna talk to you..."

He shake his head.

"Not going to happen, Sami. You did this, and you know it. And Will has to pay for it."

"How is this my fault. You are not going to turn your own stupidity around. You … You betrayed the family. Betrayed your cousin."

Nick felt how his rage grew inside.

"Then your son should watch with whom he's sleeping." His voice dropped down at the end of the sentence causing Sami to question what he said.

He did not answer her question instead decided that it was indeed time to end the conversation. He took the phone away from his ear and threw it carelessly on the table.

Then he poured the hot water into his cup and watched the water turn red thanks to the tea bag inside. He focused on the red lines in the water how they grew and got bigger and bigger. He watched them until he couldn't see them anymore because the whole water was red-ish.

He picked the cup up and drank hastily.

Then he sat down at the table and stared into nothing. He did not think at anything in particular but it felt good, sitting in the dark, quiet kitchen. He felt like nothing could conquer him. He felt invincible.

When he decided to go to bed it was already early morning and he saw the first rays of sunlight shining into the apartment. Carefully not to wake Gabi up he lay down, pulling the blanket over him and closing his eyes.

At the same time a few streets away in a dorm of the University of Salem, Will just opened his eyes, just to see a bunch of black hair next to him. He sighed at the thought of Sonny. He got somewhat lucky and he knew it. Sonny was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He could not believed he deserved someone that kind, loving and caring as him.

"Don't." The hair next to him turned around and looked at him. Will saw brown eyes looking into his own blue ones. Sonny voices cracked a bit, being early morning and all that.

"What?" Will didn't understand Sonny's request.

"You are asking yourself why you've got me. Admit it."

Will chuckled.

"No. I'm asking myself how my boyfriend reads my mind."

Sonny sat up.

"Well. Guess I am a genius then." Sonny looked at Will's eyes and bowed over to kiss him. Those sweet little gestures of affection made Will fall in love with Sonny all over again. Those little kisses and hugs and touches made Will realise how lucky he was.

"How are you ?" Sonny stopped kissing Will. In his eyes Will saw blank concern.

Will looked away and let his view drop to the blanket. He saw the stripes on the fabric, the small yellow and the bigger green ones.

"There have been good parts of this night and bad parts." Sonny nodded. Will had hesitated with his answer because he didn't want Sonny to feel bad.

Will sat up, breathed in and stood up. Next to bed he was first stretching his legs before going into the bathroom. While the hot water of the shower was running over his skin, he felt as if his brain was cleaned from all the bad thoughts all of the worries and feelings he had about signing that piece of paper Nick had shown him.

But he knew that those thoughts would come back as soon as he would step out of the shower. Therefore he decided to stay under the shower longer than necessary but when he heard the impatient knock at the bathroom door he knew it would be time to get out. Slowly he turned of the water stream, pulled aside the shower curtain and stepped onto the cold floor. Then he opened the door, letting Sonny inside.

Sonny placed a kiss on Will's back shoulder and stepped towards the sink.

Will was already on the phone when Sonny came out of the bathroom. Last night, Sonny encouraged him to call in all help they could get, so Will decided to talk to E.J DiMera. E.J was as good as his step father and already the father of his siblings. And he was a lawyer.

But it didn't look good.

"William, as much as I want to help you. I was there, yesterday, was I not? I told you then the same I tell you right now. I cannot help you. I am sorry."

Will looked up to Sonny and his boyfriend saw the pain and the hurt in his sky blue eyes. Without any hesitation he pulled out his mobile and typed in a number. Just seconds later he held the phone to Will and showed him the display it read "Sure thing. Half an hour in the pub? - Dad."

For the shortness of a moment Will felt something like hop inside his bones. The father of his boyfriend was Justin Kiriakis and also a lawyer. And E.J and Sonny never stopped praising him.

"All that is left is to try." Sonny tried to cheer Will up but he limited himself. Will didn't like Sonny to be too hopeful about this whole thing. But he didn't want to see his boyfriend hurt. And right now he was.

**Two years later.**

"Ariana! Come here. At once!" Nick screamed the demand over the whole square. His daughter didn't know why he did it, but she learned to listen to him. He told her what to do. Looking at the pavement, she slowly came back. Her bowed down to her, and stroke her hair back. He felt the texture of her blonde hair, something he hated. He had dark hair so had Gaby. And Gaby being Hispanic should've been reflected in their daughter. But no. As if destiny wanted to mock him, it gave her daughter _his_ blond hair. He tried to colour it once, but Gaby had been furious about it. She liked Ariana the way she was. Of course, when she still didn't know the truth.

"Baby, you really need to go inside the shop and look for mommy, alright? Would you do that for your daddy?" His daughter nodded and left him standing alone at the square, scanning the place for the faces he saw just seconds before.

It didn't take long until he found them. One of them started to enhance the pace of its steps until it reached Nick.

"Was that her?"

Nick didn't answer.

"Nick. Answer him!" The second face reached Nick, breathing heavenly.

"No, Sonny. The answer will just hurt him." Nick looked at Sonny, without glancing at Will.

Sonny stepped a little forward and also a little aside, crossed his arms, trying to protect Will from Nick.

"Ariana is Will's daughter. Did nobody ever mention to you why your daughter has blond hair and those fairy blue eyes? ..."

Nick interrupted Sonny angrily.

"I'm gonna stop you right there. The only thing "fairy" are you both." Nick's view, lingering in Sonny's eyes was as cold as ice.

"And call back your lawyer. He is getting on my nerves with all those ideas how we could change our agreement."

Will was stunned, his eyes got bigger and bigger. He didn't know that Sonny's dad got in contact with Nick already. He thought that after three years of trying to cook Nick soft, he thought Justin had given up.

"And you both should be so proud of yourself, you are such kids – running to Daddy at the first sight of trouble."

At the last world, Nick turned around a 180° and went. Leaving Sonny and Will behind. Shattered and crushed.

Will sat down on the floor, in front of steps. He thought back to the time when he didn't know who he was. He was sitting right here, back then. With Sonny, talking about his confusion. Talking about Sonny's outing. Slowly realising that he himself is gay, slowly becoming best friends with Sonny. Maybe even slowly falling in love with him.

After a while where he just stood still, Sonny sat down straight across of him. Leaning back to the wall, Sonny just looked at him, waiting Will to say something.

When Will just stayed silent, Sonny sighed softly, lay is head back, closed his eyes.

"We now had a full circle in our relationship – you realise that?" Will chuckled.

"But we've changed since then, haven't we?"

"You have. I'm still the same funny, caring and absolutely stunning ."

"Praising you bit much." Will looked at his boyfriend with the most amount of love he could bring up in that moment.

He was stretching is left leg a bit, just so much that it reached Sonny's. Then he moved it a bit, caressing Sonny's right leg. That was just a little gesture to show Sonny that the words he said, were said with love as a base. But Will knew that Sonny knew. He always knew and always had known.

"You know … " he said, smiling at his boyfriend, who had still closed eyes. "I just love you so much … "

Sonny nodded a little.

But Will shock his head.

"You have no clue, seriously. You showed me who I was and how I felt."

Sonny opened his eyes. Brown met blue.

"I thought that kiss at that alley with a certain boy, showed yu who you really were?" Sonny was mocking Will, but Will didn't care.

"That too. But you were there when I needed you. You did not even blink at my questions. You did wait for me to figure myself out. You did not once push me to anything I wasn't ready for."

"And Halloween?"

"I wanted to be lured there, didn't I?"

"Will, what is that all about? Why are you telling me this?" Sonny looked worried.

Will was quiet. He was thinking about his feelings. Sonny did ask a question he wasn't really eager to answer. The answer would just show that he was a bad boyfriend and didn't deserve someone like Sonny.

"I just don't feel like good company for you anymore."

Sonny wanted to say something, he breathed in, but Will wouldn't let him say anything.

"First I don't tell you about my daughter. Then I do. We break up, get back together. I force you int being a dad, when you want to climb mountains and travel the world. Then I am too stupid to keep my daughter and know you are getting a boyfriend who is hardly thinking about anything else." Will had started to cry over the past few words and he quickly wiped some tears on his cheeks away.

"I wanna be a good boyfriend to you. I really do. But I fear and can't be ever. And that is the worst thing. I love you incredibly much and I still want you to be happy. Thats why I think we should go separate ways."

Will jumped up, and ran a couple of metres over the square until Sonny caught up with him.  
"Will!" He shouted angrily at him. "You do not get to walk out on me! That is the most selfish way I know!"

Will was shocked by Sonny's voice and anger.

"Selfish? Selfish? I am doing this for you."  
Sonny grabbed his arm and didn't let go.

"You are absolutely not doing this for me. You are doing it for you and only for you. You are just afraid. You are afraid that I might go. That you might lose me. That I choose to go and break your heart. So you break up with me and try to break mine. And you should even manage that. Just because you didn't learn that from your parents. You didn't learn that people can stay. And that they will stay."

Will was crying fully now. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw people staring at the picture both them seemed to be. Two boys, so close still screaming and crying. No wonder people stopped and stared.

For a second Will felt to loose ground. He felt like it was shaking, his knee got weak and he just felt like falling down.

"Will? Will?" Concern in Sonny's voice who caught him falling in his arms.

"I am so sorry. I am so sorry." Will sobbed. He stood up straight again and hugged Sonny.

"I know. I know. Don't be..."

"I let it all really get to me. I love you. Oh my god I love you."

Sonny lay his head on Wills shoulder and kissed his neck.

Sitting on a bench, Sonny still had his arms wrapped around Will.

Will looked at him, his eyes still red-ish from crying earlier.

"You never told me that you're Dad is still trying to get my daughter back."

Sonny looked shattered.

"I know. But Dad also told me that he has little to no hope. I didn't wanna bring you down then."

Will looked at him in approval and climbed back into Sonny's arm, not wanting to leave them in his whole life.


	2. Chapter 2

Fifteen years later.

Gaby and Nick sat on the sofa, watching the news when their daughter came in. She was becoming so beautiful. She was 18 now and had the looks of a goodness. She had long blonde hair with some curls, but right now it was straightened and went to her hips. Her blue eyes were looking around the room, kind and curious. Her figure resembled of her mother in younger days.

"Mom? Dad?"

Nick turned around.

"What is it honey?"

Ariana sat down opposite from them, looking worried and facing the floor. She looked miserable.

Gaby noticed that, turned of the sound of the TV and straightened up.

"You know you can talk to us, right. But not right now. I really need to get to work."

Ariana didn't believe what she heard her mother say.

"You are self-employed in your little Spanish shop. You could just listen for a second and open your shop later, you know?"

Gaby stood up, stroke the head of her daughter, smiled carefully and went out of the living room. Nick looked at this scene, feeling left out. He knew that his daughter didn't want to talk to him alone. Somehow they never bonded in the same way as Gaby and Ariana did.

It wasn't that obvious, just noticeable when you lived with them for longer.

He didn't know the reason. But he guessed that his mind was to occupied, because whenever he looked at her, he saw Will. And that made him sick. Maybe his daughter sensed that.

"Do you want to talk to me?"

Ariana nodded, stood up and went to him. She lay her head down on his legs, looking up to his face.

"Am I adopted?"

Nick thought he heard her question incorrectly. Why would she ask such thing? Did Will get to her? How did he do that?

Nick thought back to their move. He insisted on moving away from Salem when he met Will on that square a long time ago. Gaby didn't mind. And here 40 miles from Salem, they build their life. Gaby had opened a shop, selling clothes, food and other Spanish things. He worked in a factory, building garden tools. They had a easy going life. Not a very rich one but still. Nick even had been able to sell Rafe the money back. The apartment was sold to some old married couple now. He hadn't been back in Salem for fifteen years now. And he didn't miss it one bit.

"Dad?" The voice of his daughter pulled him from his thoughts. Suddenly Nick stood up and went some steps away from the sofa. He didn't say anything. After a while he found his words.

"Why would you ask such thing?" His voice dropped low, but she understood him anyway.

"Look at me, please." She pleaded. "I don't look anything like you and mom." Nick saw that that had troubled her for a long time now, cause when she spoke he heard the sadness in her voice.

"Look at my hair, my eyes, my skin, my face. I look caucasian, how can that be. I know you are but still. Blonde hair? Blue eyes? I could live with bright brown hair, grey eyes. But this blonde, this blue?"

Nick took a deep breath. Then he heard himself say something.

"You are definitly not adopted. You are your mom's daughter."

Ariana nodded.

"You swear?" Her voice was still shaking.

Nick nodded.

"I swear on your life." He saw his daughter standing up, hugging him and leaving him alone to the silent TV. Some daily soap was on. He didn't care.

Ariana went through the grey hall. It was her first day at college. She didn't know a single face. But that didn't matter. She kind of knew that it wasn't so important to make friends here. None of them lived in her area anyway.

Her father didn't knew she was going here, he would have approved. She tried to make all of it on her own and her father didn't mind. He said it would a good practise for her to be independent. The tuition here was higher than at the other college. So she had to work at a little diner to pay it full.

So far, so good. Everything worked out just as she planned. When she got a car, she was fully happy. Now she could drive the 40 miles by car and her dad wouldn't suspect anything.

Ariana grabbed pulled down her bag and looked inside. She found straight away what she was looking for. She had been given a small paper with her courses on it.

First course was in room 405. She read the plan of the college, and found the way to the room immediately.

She went inside at sat down in on of the first rows. She know that most of the students sat down at the back of the room but she always liked to sit at the front.

Gladly the room filled itself quickly with all sorts of students, so that nearly every place was taken when Ariana heard the bell. Even the places in the front.

At the same time with the bell, a man came into the room. He didn't look around the room, went straight to his desk, put down his bag. Only then he turned around looking over the students.

Ariana saw his blonde hair, his blue eyes. He looked fit, she thought. A guy she could fall for.

"Morning. I am happy to see you all here at a start of a new semester. I am your economics professor," he turned around and wrote with big,curvy letters his name on the blackboard. "I am Mr William Horton."

The room was filled with many voices at the same time, the moment he stopped to speak. Ariana sighed, there was definitely no way she could fall in love with her prof. Though he was hot.

"Sir?" A voice behind her started to talk.

Mr Horton looked at the boy who wanted his attention.

"Are you the gay boy, Sir?"

Mr Horton breathed in. Then he eyes turned cold.

"That is definitely no question I will tolerate in my class, Mr …?"

"Connor."

"I am guessing you are from Salem, Mr Connor?"

"That's right."

"Well then, I guess you can tell us about the import and export taxes in the European Union." His voice was called, and demanding. Some small laughters filled the room.

Of course, he couldn't. Ariana shook her head. Mr Horton recognized that.

"Who are you?"

"A … Grace Fallon."

She didn't know why she said this name. It was her second name and she hardly ever used it before. Maybe she felt that a new school would require a new name.

Mr Horton stumbled a second over her name. She saw his eyes widening but he caught himself quickly.

"I understand you know the answer?"  
Ariana thought a moment and that answered the question. Obviously she had said the right answer. Mr Horton nodded, murmured something like 'Well done.' and went back to the blackboard.

The next months Ariana had learned to love the economics lessons. She respected Mr Horton and he asked her all the question nobody else could answer. And all of them were more or less perfect. Ariana found economics easy, it made all sense to her.

Her parents were proud of the grades she brought home, though she just showed them essays with grades, not anything report-like, because the name of the school would be visible. She still hadn't told them that she was going to Salem U. But she knew that they would want to see the report which was coming up. A report showing all grades over the semester. But Ariana already had a plan.


	3. Chapter 3

**thank you for your reviews. It means a lot to me that somebody actually reads the stuff i bring down. :D **

Will was sitting in his office, looking through essays, when Sonny came in. Sonny still looked the same, after all these years. He was just 39 but he still looked like he was in his mid-twenties. Will smiled and stood up. Carefully he closed the door before going to Sonny and kissing him. The fire was still there and Will knew that Sonny felt it two.

For a moment time stood still, Will forgot where he was. The longer the kiss took, the more Will was giving into Sonny's arms, his smell, his warmth. He could forget the world around him.

Suddenly he heard how someone cleared one's throat.

Instantly he turned around, letting go of Sonny, who was jumping back, as if he was planning to hide in a corner of the office.

"Sorry, Mr Horton. I can come back later. I am so sorry." Will saw Grace Fallon who looked really confused. He shook his head went behind his desk. He pointed to the chairs in front of him.

"Please sit down. Do you mind Mr Kiriakis being here?" Grace was quiet and refused to answer. Maybe she hadn't heard the question.

But Sonny took his coat, Will had peeled off of him. Then he aspirated a kiss of his cheek.

"See you later." Sonny silently left the room and closed the door behind him.

Will didn't feel good. He wasn't in the closet but he felt that a professor shouldn't act gay. He feared to loose respect. And a teacher without respect – he stopped himself right there. Something else was more important right now.

"How can I help you?"

Grace looked at him directly, the first time since he was caught kissing someone.

"I … I was wondering whether … Do you see a chance to give me my report without the heading which reads 'Salem University'?"

Will was confused. Why did she need that? But indeed he knew a way.

"Sure thing."

Grace looked happy.

"Thank you." She stood up and went to the door. But before she lay her hand on the door knob she turned around.

"Can I ask you something else? Something really personal?" Will took a breath. He had known she wouldn't leave without referring to him and Sonny, who would. He showed to the chair again and Grace sat down again.

"I am sorry to ask you this, but are you ill?"

"Pardon?"

Grace looked to his desk, fixating pens and paper.

"My dad... He always says Homosexuality is a disease." Will's eyes got bigger. It was scary how some parents influenced their children in this way. The society would never change if bigotry was given to the next generation.

"That is not true," he said, trying to stay calm. It wasn't the fault of Grace. "To be gay is just who I am. Just like I am blonde."

He smiled at her. She didn't smile back but at least she was looking to him. He might have a chance with her, if she looked up to him, she might listen.

"And … how did you know … that … you know..." Will wondered about the question. He knew what he had to do. Whatever trouble she might had, he might be able to help. Just like Sonny did to him. He smiled again, thinking how Sonny was his mentor and how he could be hers.

"Know that I was gay? I just felt wrong with my friends and girlfriends. Only when I was with other gay people I felt free. I could be myself."

Grace nodded. She looked suddenly very sad.

"Can I ask you, why you've asked me that, Grace?" Her eyes shimmered. He thought to see some tears, still in her eyes.

"I just feel so alone. I feel like somethings missing." Will grabbed her hand, lying on the desk.

"And your parents?"

"I already talked to them," She did? "But they wouldn't listen." Will was standing up, walked around the table and sat down at the chair next to her. He put his hand to her shoulder.

"When you need someone to talk to, I am here. And I will listen. I promise." Grace nodded again, stood up and went.

On her way home Ariana thought about what she saw. Thought about what he said. Thought about what she asked. And most importantly how safe she felt in his office.

Before she knew what she did, she turned her car around and drove to the shop of her mom. She parked her car at the front entrance and went inside.

"Mom? Mom?" She shouted around the shop. Some customers turned around, but she didn't care.

Gaby waved at her, when she came into the shop from the storage room.

Ariana went to the counter and spoke slowly and quietly.

"Mom? Is being gay an illness?"

Gaby shook the head.

"Of course it isn't, honey. Even your father is ..."

Ariana didn't believe what she heard.

"My father is GAY?" She screamed the last word through the shop. Gaby cringed her face.

"No, no. I didn't mean that." "What did you mean then?"

Her mother looked around the shop for a second.

"I meant that even your father thinks this way. He doesn't think bad of gays and he can be a little prejudiced sometimes."

Ariana nodded though she knew that her mom hat no clue. Her dad had said what he thinks about gay people more than once.

"I am sorry for shouting at you and your customers. I am really am." Ariana stormed of, leaving Gaby behind.


	4. Chapter 4

**1) Thank you for your reviews. I usually don't aks for them - so thank you for writing them anyways. And they motivate me like hell so a big shout out to all of you!**

**2) Just for those of you who didn't notice the change - Ariana is 17. The first time jump was just 2 years. I totally got carried away in the story and decided that her being 17 gave me options for different thoughts. **

When Gaby had realised what just happened, she decided to close her shop. After she told all her costumers that there was an emergency in her family, she closed up and left, headed home.

Nick was already home, sitting in the kitchen drinking a cup of tea.

"Nick! Nick, I have to tell you something." Gaby came running in and had a hard time to breath because she ran so fast.

"I almost told Ariana about Will."

Immediately as she had spoken out these words she felt a slap on her cheek. It burned like hell, and made her sob.

"How could you Gaby? How could you? We have been careful for 18 years and now you blurt something like that out?" Nick raged.

But Gaby had other worries. She held her cheek, trying to calm down and between her sobs she stammered: "You hit me. You hit me.

But Nick had no time responding that because a voice cut through silent like a knife through butter. It was a clean, surprising cut.

"Who is Will?" Ariana stepped into the kitchen.

Nick lost his temper.

"I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR THIS NAME IN MY HOUSE!" He stepped up to Gaby, forced her to put her hand down and kissed the red burning cheek.

"I am sorry, honey. I really am. That shouldn't have happened. And you," he said, looking at Ariana.

"I pray for you you forget this name."

But he saw on the way that Ariana crossed her arms and how her eyes spit fire that this threat wouldn't change her mind. In fear that he was about to hurt her also he looked at Gaby.

"You messed this up. So fix it." With a sad look at Ariana's face he left the kitchen. Just moments later both women heard the loud sound produced by the door falling in its lock.

"So mom. Who is Will?" Arana said with a voice so demanding that Gaby felt that certain parts of Nick were in Ariana, too.

Gaby took a deep breath before she started telling what Ariana should've heard long ago.

"Will was your father until ..." She stopped. How so often in her life she was forced to choose. And like always she chose Nick.

" … until he died in a car crash."

Ariana stopped to breath. Something inside her broke. She felt miserable.

"So you are finally, after 18 years, telling me that my dad is not my father – just like I always suspected – and that my real father is already dead?" She screamed from the top of her lung. "And now I don't even have the chance to get to know him. You are definitely the worst parents ever!"

At the last word Ariana stormed off and the barricaded herself in the bathroom upstairs.

Gaby was still and silent. She didn't move for what felt an eternity. When she felt that she could indeed still move her body she went to the cupboard in the living room and pulled out a drawer. She searched quite long until she found what she was looking for. A framed picture of her and Rafe.

Her hands were shaking when she pulled the picture out and a smaller, folded paper fell into her fold. She opened it up and saw herself at graduation. Next to her stood a taller, blonde guy with the bluest eyes she had seen in a long time. Even Ariana's eyes weren't as blue.

"Oh, Will. What did you put us into." Her thumb stroke over the picture. A lonely tear fell on the surface.

"I am so sorry Will." From the next drawer, Gaby took a box of matches and lit one. Slowly with a heart already full with regret she held the picture into the flame.

Sad and alone she stared into flames, eating the picture from the lower corner up to the top.

Nick came home three hours after the kitchen talk. When he opened the door, he already smelled the dinner Gaby made them.

"Honey? I'm home." He shouted towards the kitchen, expecting Gaby to come out of the door to his right. But she didn't. Looking into the kitchen he didn't see her. Slowly a feeling of worry conquered his heart. Did something happen to them?

"Gaby? Where are you?"

He did not hear his wife shouting back but what he heard was something upstairs. It was a sound of something falling over and then he heard a scream. Not an angry, raging scream but a scream indicating something was just terribly wrong.

Courageously, Nick climbed the staircase running with three steps at once, nearly stumbled but caught himself.

He had a suspicion where the scream came from and so he ran in the bathroom. The picture he saw there wouldn't leave his head for a while.

His wife Gaby kneeling next to the bathtub, kneeling in loads and loads of blood. His daughter lying in the bathtub with both of her wrist to the sides, both cut. The blood still fell to the floor, drop by drop by drop. As if someone knocked him to the floor, Nick fell, gliding to his wife. Crying, he got his daughter out of the tub, pressing towels onto her wrists.

"Gaby. Call 911." He said impatiently to his wife, who sat next to him in shock and didn't move an inch. "Get help – NOW!" The last word was shouted almost directly in her ear, and suddenly she awoke and jumped out of the bathroom.

The way to the hospital had been a torture. Ariana had lost so much blood that the paramedics shouted and screamed at each other because no one had a real plan how to save her life.  
In the hospital, Nick and Gaby sat side by side but they wouldn't say a single word to each other. Silently, they prayed and they hoped and they feared.

Every time they heard steps coming towards them, the hastily jumped up but the doctor didn't come. No one came. Left alone like this Nick had a lot to think about. He thought about how everything he did in the past would be in vain if his daughter couldn't be saved. He casted out Will and Sonny for a reason. The only reason there has always been – protecting his daughter. But if she were to die he wouldn't have succeeded. He failed her the same way as them in that case.

When they heard steps again, they didn't bother to stand up. Although this time it was actually the doctor coming through to them.

"Mr and Mrs Fallon?" He said with that voice only doctors have when they tell relatives that there were complications. And indeed. When Nick and Gaby stood up, looking hopefully and the doctor he crashed their hoped.

"Your daughter has lost a lot of blood. Though we were able to stop the bleeding … "

"But that is good, isn't it?" Gaby brought her hope up.

The doctor wasn't answering her question, instead he was repeating his previous statement, stressing the first word.

"_Though_ we were able to stop the bleeding, I am sorry to tell you that but we are fearing for the life of her daughter." When the words came out of his mouth, Gaby sank back to the chairs. She covered her head in her hands staring to sob.

The doctor took a quick look at her. In his view wasn't real concern or worry. Most probably had he done this for too long. He didn't differentiate anymore between his job and the feelings involved with that. He started to carry on, looking at Nick while he spoke.

"As you know your daughter … "

"Ariana." Nick interrupted. He was getting sick and tired of the doctor referring to Ariana just as "daughter". He had a name for a reason.

"Thank you. Ariana has, as you know, a rare blood group. We were able to give her some blood transfusions with 0- but we need to have her blood group, too to fully stabilise her. Anyway, is there any chance you might be able to donate some blood?"

Gaby looked up, her face being red from all the crying and sobbing. First Nick thought she would nod, saying everything would be alright, saying Ariana would be saved.

But then she said something that shattered his world. She made it spin around and would not make it stop again.

"No. Neither of us has her blood group."

The doctor bit on his lips. He looked troubled.

"Do you know anyone who has her blood type then? An other family member or a close friend of the family?"

Nick and Gaby shared a look.

**Just want to say - I don't know anything about blood groups (except what i learnt in school) so the stuff happening in the hospital ist just fictional ...**


	5. Chapter 5

"I am so sorry, Will. I shouldn't have visited you in your office." Sonny was entering Will's office, sitting down in front of his desk. He looked compunctious at Will but Will didn't look back at him.

Sonny knew that Will loved his work. That is why Sonny let him work late every night, grading papers, correcting sentences, going through essays. He became a teacher because of his idea.

Back then, Will was still hurting due to Nick and his schemes. And Sonny's idea had been that Will does something with children as far as possible. College students weren't exactly children, but it was the closest Will would come to being a father.

At least going after his plan of life. Sonny tried to pursue adoption once, but Will made it clear back then, that he didn't want another child. Though Sonny didn't like his decision, he knew that forced to choose between a child and Will he would choose Will. Always.

Moments after Sonny sat down, Will looked up and smiling.

"Don't worry. It was fine actually."

Sonny wondered about those words.

"Why would you say that? Didn't you climb back into the closet when you started his job?"

Will chuckled.

"No I didn't and you know that. Don't you?"

Will still looked to Sonny as his mentor and for that cause he was still trying to make things right.

"Of course, I know that. It was a joke … " Sonny touched Will's hand. "Was it really okay though?"

"Yes. I even helped her to fight some hatred thoughts and opinions she had against homosexuality."

Sonny raised his eyebrows.

"You did?"

"Yeah, I kind of convinced her that we were not sick."

Will thought back to the talk, not telling Sonny the end of the talk. He wouldn't have wanted that either at that time. People need to figure themselves out, without too much help and pushes of others.

Sonny stood up and and went around the table sitting down on Will's laps.

"So you sonny-ed her?"

Will kissed his arms.

"Yeah I did. I listened to her worries and told her about me."

Will chuckled again, thinking back to Sonny and his struggle with himself.

Then he moved his legs back and forth, indicating the wish for him to stand up.

"Do you want a coffee?" Sonny stood up, looking to his boyfriend. Will nodded, he could really use a coffee, while marking exams.

Sonny kissed him on his forehead before he went out and into the kitchen. Barely gone, Will felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He took it out, answering it.

"Will Horton."

"Will."

Will's heart stopped for a beat. He hadn't this voice in a long time. But he still recognized it, strangely. With fast steps, he ran into into the kitchen. As Sonny looked to him, he put his phone on speaker and lay it on the table.

"Gaby." Will didn't know what to say. Why was she calling him?

"I really have to talk to you. It is so important."

"Normally I would say 'Sure thing' but given our history together I do would like to know what this call is all about."

"What is your blood group?"

"AB negative, why?"

"Thank god. We need you. Ariana needs you."

Will stopped breathing, so did Sonny. The views they exchanged were saying the same unbelieving thoughts. Will couldn't say anything. He felt unable to move, to speak, to react.

"Ariana is in the hospital. We need you to donate your blood. Urgent. How quickly can you come to the St. Vincenz Hospital?"

Sonny mouthed something to Will and Will understood.

"Give me literally minutes."

When Gaby hung up, Will was still standing in the kitchen, trying to process what he just heard.

"Will, I think we really need to go now. Come on."

But Will shook his head.

"I don't know if I can do that. I don't want to see her. I cannot cope with seeing her and loosing her again. I can't do that, Sonny, I can't."

Sonny stroke his back.

"I know, Will. And I promise you – if you don't want to see her you won't. I will take care of that. But we really need to go know. Your daughter needs her father."

When Will and Sonny arrived at the hospital, Gaby came running towards them. She didn't slow down and literally fell into Will's arms.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Her voice was so low and tired but also relieved.

Nick was still standing some metres away from Sonny and Will but he looked at them and mouthed a 'thanks' but neither Will nor Sony spent much attention to him.

"Let's get the doctor, Gaby. Fast." Gaby stopped hugging Will and ran away.

Just minutes later a nurse came towards Will and Sonny.

"William Horton?"

Will raised his hand.

"That'd be me."

His voice was weak. He still hadn't made up his mind yet. Was it good he was hear or not? Would he be able to see his daughter? Did he want to see his daughter when the chance arose?

"Please come with me, Sir."

Will followed the nurse, his steps were so small, he had to quicken up to keep up with her. The nurse lead him through all those corridors, he saw one door after another, grey walls after grey walls. He wondered how the nurse knew where she was going but apparently she knew.

The nurse suddenly stopped, leading to him nearly running into hear. She turned around looking him directly into the eyes.

"Do you want to see the patient?"

There it was. The question Will had feared for. While still thinking for the right answer, the answer that wouldn't hurt anyone he heard his mouth say: "Yes, please."

The nurse nodded and opened a door on the right. She held the door open, showing him that It would be okay for him going inside.

Will took a deep breath. After 18 years he would speak to his daughter for the first time. What was he going to say? He couldn't just go inside and reveal himself. He didn't even know whether she knew. After seconds of thought, he breathed out and went inside. The nurses closed the door.

At the same time Sonny and Gaby reached Will and stood awkwardly around in the corridor.

"Look Sonny," Nick finally said, not looking at Sonny at all. "I am really thankful what Will is doing here."

Sonny's voice was cold. He despised Nick with all his heart.

"He is her father. What did you thought? You thought he wouldn't come and risk letting his daughter die?"

"I am her father."

Sonny laughed cold and short. Apparently Nick was really determined to be Ariana's father.

"Maybe on the papers. But you can't rule out nature, can you?"

Sonny looked at Nick, hoping he would turn around and looking into his eyes, seeing his thoughts. He wished Nick would realise that Sonny didn't think he was clever at all.

"That is the thing I love about your little scheme. You were plotting it so determined, so carefully but still you couldn't help that she turned out being Nicks child."

At the word 'scheme' Nick looked shocked at Gaby. Though Gaby was standing only a few feet away she obviously had not heard what the men just said.

Sonny saw this change in Nicks mimes. He lowered his voice not really knowing why, because he did not even care a little about Nicks marriage.

"You didn't tell her, why Will turned his parental right down?" Sonny whispered. This time Nick looked at him, pretending not to hear what Sonny just asked. But Sonny didn't care about that.

It wasn't important to get Nick soft. He knew he wouldn't achieve what E.J and his dad tried for several years. I was just important to him that all this frustration off of his chest. Because had not just stolen something from Will. Nick hadn't just stolen Will's daughter.

He had stolen Will from Sonny. Will had never been truly the same. Sonny knew that, even Will had tried to cover up all feelings. Sonny still loved Will with the whole of his heart but he got more sensitive to his true feelings. He saw the sadness in the blue eyes, felt the caution of Will's actions when they were around children.


	6. Chapter 6

**(As I said before: I don't have any knowledge about all medical things. It is just all made up. So when you went to donate blood you might know how that's going to happen, but i didn't have clue :D )**

The light was low in the room, he could hardly see the contours of the desk and the chair. Therefore he stepped against the table, leading him to curse.

Suddenly the room lighted up. Will's eyes needed to adjust to the sudden light and when he did, he heard a voice much sooner than he realised where the voice was coming from.

"Mr Horton? What are you doing here?"

Grace sat in her bed, looking terribly pale and tired. Her voice was cracking and so low that Will had trouble understanding her words.

Will couldn't move a single muscle in his body. Grace was Ariana? Grace was his daughter? For months he had taught her, got to know her. For days he had marked her exams, realising she was a rare talent. For hours he had thought about her, trying to fight ways to foster her talent. For minutes she confided in him, telling him her feelings. Feelings she couldn't tell her parents. Parents like Gaby and Nick.

Grace was Ariana. He had to tell him that again and again, over and over in his head.

"Mr Horton? I asked you something..."

Will nodded and quietly went to her bed, sat down on the edge.

"I am here to donate blood, Ari … ehm Grace."

As much as he would like to tell her all about them. About him. But he knew she would run, wouldn't want to her that. He didn't even know whether she suspected that she had a different father.

"You read my file?"

What did she mean by that? Will knew that her blood type definitely wasn't mentioned in the student files. That was just too private. But then he understood what she meant. She noticed that he was going to use her real name.

"I'm just going to stick to Grace, ok?" Will smiled at her. She smiled back and for a moment, he was glad that he saw her in this very moment. Her smile was his. He knew it. He looked somehow in a mirror. "I guess there was a point calling yourself Grace. So I won't stop saying it."

Grace tried to laugh but she was to weak. Instead she coughed and Will went over to caress her leg, he felt under the blanket.

"Thanks."

"How are you, anyway?"

Will hated himself for that phrase because what was she going to say? That she was fine, cause she wasn't. But that was his way of smalltalk, not wanting to leave this room just yet.

"Well, I've been better. Strange coincidence that we have the same blood type. How did you hear of my condition?"

She lay back and closed her eyes. Will saw the sweat on her forehead. I must've been hard for her to talk to him. Pretending not to see her suffering he thought of a lie. It must've been a lie, of that he was sure.

"You're parents called the University. They told me about your condition and I told him that I was able to help you out."

"Bullshit!"

The only word came out strong and angry. Her face however didn't look strong or angry. But the word made him cringe.

"Excuse me?"

Her eyes stayed close, just her mouth let out the few words Grace was going to speak.

"My parents don't know about me going to Salem U. They had never called there."

Will was trying to say something to defend his words but Grace wouldn't let him. Before the words he formed could leave his mouth Grace interrupted him.

"I think it is better when you leave. Please. And turn out the lights when you go."

Will didn't stand up immediately but when Grace turned around and gave him the cold shoulder. He understood. Slowly he left the room, taking one last look at his daughter, before turning off the lights and closing the door.

The nurse, who had waited for him to get out, jumped up and looked at him.

"How did it go?"

Will shrugged with his shoulders. How did it go? His daughter didn't know he was her dad. She didn't know about Nick's scheme and she kicked him out. But of course he said none of this.

"Fine. Just fine."

The nurse looked at him a little bit longer. He couldn't really read her thoughts, though. Was she able to detect his lie? What was she thinking? What was she told, anyway?

"Please follow me, Sir."

And again, she went while he was running behind her. Some doors later, she pushed another open and guided him inside.

Will sat down on the chair the nurse advised him to. She took his right arm, cleaning it and pressing the needle inside.

Filled with curiosity first and disgust later, Will saw his blood running through the tube, filling the bag near the floor.

"Do you mind if I leave for a second?"

"No, no. Not at all."

The nurse looked surprised. Maybe she thought Will would mind being alone in that room. Or maybe she feared he would be someone fighting for following the rules.

"Well, just don't move and I'm coming back in a second."

The nurse looked over the tubes and the bag again. Obviously everything looked alright to her, because she approved and went. When the door fell in the lock, Will was left alone. And that's how he felt. He felt like the room showed his true inner feelings.

It was a clean room but when one looked closer one saw the messed up shelves. Additional it was small, uncomfortable, rather dark and cold.


	7. Chapter 7

Ariana wanted to sleep as the doctors came in. She felt horrible,her head was pounding, breathing had become hard and painful and she felt so heavy. She couldn't be bothered to move, everything was too heavy to move it, even the smallest fingers. Even her eyelashes stayed closed.

She felt the needle in her arm, the heat from the stitch spreading along the skin. And then she felt a fluid stream coming into her veins. It hurt and she moaned, but nobody said anything. But she knew they were there. A bunch full people all waiting for her to get better. She could feel their looks at her skin, her body, her face.

Giving into the tiredness, she tried to blend it all out. The pain, the people, their thoughts, their looks.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw rays of bright sunlight floating through her windows, filling the room with incredible brightness.

She tried to lift her arm to her head. It worked. Somehow her arm felt lighter. Still not as light as she remembered him to be but still. She lifted the other arm two, raising both. Then she tried to touch her hair. When she reached her shoulders and didn't feel the weight of her hair on her shoulders, she got a small shock. Raising both arms even hair, touching her forehead, her head she understood. Apparently the nurses had tied her hair together. She detested that, so she tried to open the dot but didn't manage. It seemed her arms and fingers didn't know how to work anymore. She felt that she had to learn again how to use them. She sighed over that realisation. She felt weak and dependent.

"Honey? How do you feel?"

Her mother came into her room, carrying a lot of flowers in her right hand. She put them on the window board, before coming towards Ariana.

Ariana wanted to say that she felt better. She wanted to do the same smalltalk, she wanted to talk about the same irrelevant stuff, she wanted to express her love.

She just opened her mouth as her look fell onto her wrists. Both were bandaged and there were also some red imprints shining through the material.

That's when everything fell back into place. It all came back to her. The reason she tried to kill herself, the problems with her blood group, Mr Horton.

"Why am I still alive?"

She knew that if formulated this way, her mom would listen to her, though she realised the question sounded very harsh.

"But dear, be glad. We are both so glad, your dad is coming in a short moment. He is trying to find a parking spot."

"Mom. I wanted to be dead. You should've just let me die."

Ariana knew that her mother needed to be forced out of her state of mind she was in. And that was the reason she was acting like this. The truth was that Ariana was glad to be alive. She was glad that they saved her. She never meant to hurt herself. And yet she did. Though she didn't know her intention. She came to think that it was some kind of panic attack, an attack where the only way was to do serious harm to her.

"DO NOT EVEN SAY THAT!"

Her mother bursted out furiously, as her father came into the room. He looked worried. Ariana noticed that he looked to her mom instead of her but then she realised why. He just heard her outburst not the words Ariana said to provoke her.

"Why am I still alive?" Ariana asked calmly.

"See what she is doing? I'm sorry that I screamed at her but she is asking those question since I came into the room."

Her mom turned at her dad asking him for help. And seemingly it worked. Her dad came nearer and sat down on the edge of her bed.

Some time ago, Mr Horton sat there, telling her a lie. And she caught him on it.

"Well, Ari. I would say you had the best doctors there were."

Her dad smiled at her. She felt like a little kid, not getting a serious answer.

"Just because of the doctors?"

Her dad nodded and patted her knee.

"I guess so."

Ariana knew it wasn't the truth. She remembered Mr Horton, remembered that he just came to donate blood, to save her. But she feared that her parents didn't know that he had come to se her. They thought she didn't know. And most importantly, they wanted to keep it that way. But why? What was this all about? Who was Mr Horton? Somehow that were way too many questions for her to think about.

Her dad pulled away from all those questions.

"How are you, dear?"

Ariana decided to play this little game with her parents.

"Better. See. I can move my arms now."

Her dad looked proud and content at her little show. But then he stopped her arms and turned them around. Carefully he opened the bandages around her wrists. His fingers were shaking.

"Why did you do it, honey?" His fingers went along the scars. His voice was troubled, he was probably thinking about the night where she was found.

"I don't know. Honestly." She pulled her arms away, hiding them under the blanket. She didn't look at her parents but at the wall across the room.

The next hour they talked about the irrelevant things, she had expected. Her parents talked about the news, politics, the weather and the 'Get-better-Cards' she was getting.

When her dad started to talk about his work, she knew it was time to put an end to this visitation.

"I am tired. Would you mind leaving me for today?"

"Sure. We'll be back tomorrow."

Her mom kissed her on the cheek. And just as she expected left her parents almost immediately. As soon as she was certain that they had left the hospital she carefully turned around and sat head was still a bit dizzy. She closed her eyes for a second but that didn't help at all, so she opened them again. Step after step she put one foot after the other on the floor. When she stood she looked down at her. She was really wearing one of those hospital dresses that left the backside visible for everybody. Thankfully she wore her underwear.

Ariana looked around. If her plan was supposed to work she needed something to wear. Her look fell on a jacket lying over the chair. She put it on, realising that it wasn't a jacket from her dad she knew.

In the bathroom she looked in the mirror. She looked horrible. Her hair wasn't washed in days, her face was still missing colour, it was so pale. The jacket didn't cover the hospital dress, even closed you could still see the blue and white material showing.

"Well it could be a skirt." She talked to herself. But then she also tried to kill herself. "I am so messed up."

Coming out of the bathroom she went straight to her door. Silently opening it she peeked out. The corridor was clear. She went out of her room, closed the door and turned right. She followed the 'Exit' sign until she stood outside in the rain. As if god knew what she was going to do, he tried to stop her. But she wouldn't be stoppable right now. And if that meant going through the rain barefooted with no real clothes she was still determined to do it.

Sonny was just cutting the bread into slices at he heard a knock on the door. Throwing a look at Will who was just about to place plates on the table he stopped cutting the bread and went to the door. He opened it spirited.

On the other side stood a girl. Sonny had never seen her before though she reminded him of someone. He took a good look at her. Her hair was wet and the drops fell onto the doorstep. Her eyes looked down to her feet. Sonny noticed her missing shoes and the jacket she wore. He had bought a similar jacket for Will last christmas.

Sonny really had to try to keep an relaxed face.

"What can I do for you?"

The girl looked up and Sonny stumbled when he saw bright blue eyes.

"My name is Ariana Grace Fallon and I want to know the truth."


	8. Chapter 8

"Co ... Come in." His voice was trembling. That couldn't be real.

The girl stepped inside.

"Thank you Mr. … ?"

"Kiriakis. Sonny Kiriakis."

"That is a weird name."

She smiled at him and Sonny's heart jumped. Even the smile had this resemblance.

"It's short for Jackson."

The girl laughed.

"I would've given myself the name Sonny then, too."

Sonny nodded not able to do the same kind of composed smalltalk.

"Will?" He shouted to the kitchen.

"I can't. I'm busy cutting the peppers!"

"Well, if he doesn't come to us, we have to go to him, right?"

Sonny's voice still stumbled. He had a hard time pronouncing the syllables each after each.

He lay on hand on that girl's shoulder guiding her to the kitchen.

Will obviously hearing the steps turned around and everything fell out of his face. His eyes were wide opened, his mouth stood open, the knife fell out of his hands.

"What … What are … What the heck?" Will's voice was shaking.

As the attention of the girl was now focused on Will Sonny felt free to talk.

"That is Ariana Grace Fallon. She's here to get to know the truth."

Slowly Will reached his arm out.

"I am William Horton."

"A part of that I already know. I am Ariana."

The girl took his hand, shook it. Suddenly she sneezed.

With that Sonny and Will realised how she was dressed. Sonny wanted to say something but he was interrupted by Will. Strangely his voice came out quite strong.

"You must be cold. Let's get you something to wear. Maybe you also want to take a shower."

Ariana looked at him thankfully.

"Only if you put razor blades away."

Her voice was cold but Sonny understood the irony.

"Very funny." He said but he didn't laugh. "Let's get her dry, Will." He smiled at his boyfriend.

Dressed in a jeans, a t-shirt and a grey jacket Ariana got down after William. She saw Sonny looking at her but she felt strong now. She felt less vulnerable dressed in something she felt comfortable in. She knew that good girls don't go into strangers' houses. Good girls don't get into strangers' showers and they certainly don't intend to stay and to talk. But she had no intention of being a good girl.

"Do you want to talk over dinner?" Will pointed to the set table.

Ariana nodded. She was so hungry and she couldn't wait to get something else to eat than the hospital food. The took greedy two slices of bread, putting butter and cheese on them.

"Do you say a prayer or can I just start to eat?"

Sonny and William looked at her and Sonny nodded with the head.

"Just start. I know what hospital food is like."

She smiled though she wondered how he knew. But right in this moment she didn't care.

But after a few bites and a few sips from the herb tea, William had given her reality caught up with her. She wasn't here to eat and definitely wasn't here to talk some smalltalk. This wasn't a casual smalltalk.

"So how do you guys wanna do this? Do you want to answer to question or do you just want to talk straight ahead?"

The words came out of her mouth before she knew what she had said. Regretting what she said, she tried to soften it a little.

"Sorry about that 'guys'. I don't even know you. And sorry about that 'straight'."

Sonny looked at William. First Ariana thought they would kick her out but just as she put her fork aside William and Sonny bursted out laughing.

William looked at Ariana.

"Don't worry about both. 'Straight' is just a word. Even for gay people. And that 'guys' is just okay. You are calling the shots here. It was you who looked for us."

"I am looking for the truth. Not for you."

William chuckled.

"The truth might lead to us, I guess you are aware of that?"

Ariana nodded. She had this feeling. This feeling indicating that there was more to Sonny and William than she knew so far.

"Might if I ask what you already know?"

Sonny's voice cut through the short moment of silence that had established after that last question.

"Ehm ..." Ariana thought back to all she discovered over the past few weeks.

"I know that I am not the daughter of my parents. That is what I definitely _know_. The rest is just what my mom told me. She told me that my dad isn't my father … "

She sensed that Sonny and William got tense with the last words she had spoken. Just as they indeed knew somebody about her father.

"My mom also blurted out the name 'Will' telling me that is the name of my father and that he died in a car crash."

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Sonny and William exchanging a look she couldn't interpret.

"And then you show up in the hospital, having to save my life cause you also happen to have the same blood group as me. The same rare blood group."

Ariana stopped there. That was everything she knew about the stuff that was going on in her life.

William looked at her.

"Come one there's one connection you can make. On more connection. I know you are smart enough to do it."

She didn't know what he was on about. Was this just the teacher in him? But as she was thinking about all the things she just said it clicked.

"You're name is William..." she said straight to William. "Don't tell me, you are called Will."

"I would normally lie for your sake but you came here for the truth, remember?"

Ariana dropped her second slice of bread on the plate.

"You are Will? You are freaking Will. That Will? My father who supposedly died in a car crash!?"

Sonny nodded.

"Except Will never had a car crash."

Ariana couldn't join the dots. That explained the feeling she had for so long. Explained why she felt save whenever Will was around. That explained everything. Everything that was messed up in her life fell back into place. She finally found on part of her family.

"So you are my father. No kidding?"

She still couldn't believe it. That was nearly to easy.

"I would never kid about that."

"Well, obviously fatherhood was a joke to you … "


	9. Chapter 9

Suddenly the atmosphere had changed. All of a sudden it had gotten cold and quiet around the table. Will had gotten silent, staring at his plate.

That sentence came out wrong and she noticed that as soon as the words were out in the open. She wasn't here to make accusations. She didn't feel any grief any anger towards him. She just wanted to know who she was.

"Don't. Don't say that. Ever."

Sonny angrily called her.

"Will went through hell loosing you. Don't accuse him of not wanting you."

Ariana nodded. She felt awful.

"Loosing me? So my mom gave me away?" Her voice was silent. She felt ashamed and wasn't sure whether Sonny and Will would still continue answering to her questions.

Sonny closed the eyes, as if he tried to remember how things happened 18 years ago. He breathed heavily in and out before he started to talk.

"No. Gaby is your mother. Way before Will realised that he was gay he was together with Gaby. One day she split up … "

"Hard to imagine. He is hot. I wouldn't push him out of bed." She stressed the last word, remembering her first day at Salem U.

"Did you just say your dad is hot?" Sonny frowned jokingly.

"Anyway, where was I... Right, Gaby split up and Will came to terms with him being gay. Somehow I sent him mixed signals and he had an One-night stand with her."

Ariana nodded, to show that she was listening not that she understood. Growing up with leaning that being gay is wrong. This whole being gay still got to her.

"Ok, so Gaby is my mother and you are my father. I totally get that now. And then you decided to be gay and left my mom. Was it like this?"

Will shook his head, leaning nearer towards her.

"I never wanted to leave you. Never, do you hear?" His voice was serious.

Ariana believed him though she didn't know him at all. She glanced at Sonny.

"How did you take it, Sonny?"

"You mean with you? … I guess … When Will finally told me I was shocked. We broke up over this. Just for a short while but still. When we got back together Nick gave us a hard time."

Ariana took notice. She had forgotten her dad for a while here. How did he fit into the picture?

"What did dad do?" When she realised what she had said, she bit her lip.

Will noticed that, patting her hand which lay on the table.

"It's ok. I know you see him as your dad."

"He pushed me to give up my parental rights so he could adopt you. He wanted me out of the picture. And I had to give in because he blackmailed me with something."

He sighed.

"Why did he want you 'out of the picture'?" she said picking up his very last words.

Sonny answered instead of Will who then stood up and put the dirty plates to the sink.

"Because we're gay."

"Seriously?"

Will came back to the table his face more hurt than all that previous time.

"That was the hardest thing to live with. That my daughter would be raised with a bigot. That the daughter of a gay parent is raised believing homosexuality is an illness. Involuntary irony."

Ariana was happy to get all those answers. Though she could not believe it. She knew her dad lost his temper from time to time but that? It was just so hard to believe.

Sonny looked at her, worried.

"Are you okay?"

Ariana tried to smile at him, tried to let him now that everything was alright. But she couldn't. Sonny caught that.

"You tried to fake a smile, right?"

Ariana blinked, leaving her eyes longer closed as usual.

"How can you read my mind? You did it for the second time now."

Sonny laughed at that.

"I am living with this guy over here. I can read him like an open book. In the same way I can read you. You wouldn't believe how similar you are."

Ariana stopped dwelling in his words.

"We are similar?"

Sonny's eyes got wide open.

"You don't see it?"

Ariana had no chance to answer that. Will had turned around quickly as he heard Sonny's words.

"I don't guess so. I didn't even recognize that in class and in my office."

She could see Sonny's astonishment. Didn't he know, that she and Will had met?

"Class? Office? What are you talking about?"

Ariana tapped on his arm, pretty much straight away she had Sonny's attention.

"I was in his economics classes. And I was the one walking in on you."

Sonny fixated the table. He obviously tried to think back to that day. Suddenly his eyes widened.

"That was you?"

"Yep. That was me." Ariana smiled.

"That was the day, I came to you for advise, wasn't it?"

Will approvingly smiled at her.

"Yes and I hope I was able to help."

Ariana stood up. She went some steps towards Will, who was still standing by the sink.

"You did help me. You both. Today."

Sonny stood up as well and went to the fringe putting the butter and cheese back inside.

Ariana cleared her throat.

"Will?" Her voice was low again, as if she had gotten shy all of a sudden. At her word Will turned towards her.

"It might be awkward but … "

With those words she reached out for Will and as soon as he made those three little steps, she wrapped her hands around him, holding him tight. She felt that he was surprised by this hug at first his hands just were hanging down. Then suddenly he replied the hug.

The moment he did this Ariana felt like every missing piece was gone. She felt as whole as she hadn't felt her whole life. Somehow everything in this moment felt right. She smelled his perfume and she knew it. She felt his strong arms around her body and she felt at home. He was her home.


	10. Chapter 10

Ariana woke up due to the smell of fresh roasted coffee. She opened her eyes only to see a ceiling she didn't recognize. She turned her head and looked into a fireplace. Where was she?

"Morning."

A voice came from behind her. A voice she didn't recognize. Filled with fear she jumped up and saw Will.

Heavily breathing she smiled at him.

"My gosh. Will. You scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I thought you knew where you were."

Ariana folded her bed sheets and the blanket. She had slept on the sofa.

"Why did I sleep here?" She asked casually, she didn't worry. After all Will and Sonny were gay.

Will looked worried.

"You don't know anymore? We talked and you nearly fell asleep. So we asked you whether you could stay the night and you said yes."

Ariana wanted to say that it was all fine, that she spoke the truth yesterday. But just as she wanted to say that she noticed the clock over the fireplace.

"Is that the time?"

"It is a clock." Will seemingly attempted to be funny.

"Will! Is that the time!?" She screamed.

"Yes."

Her outburst had worried Will even more.

"Crap."

Still on the same spot she undressed, standing in front of the sofa, the fireplace and Will just in her underwear.

"What's wrong?"

Ariana didn't want to worry him further but she had to. Or she'd lie. But she didn't want to start her relationship to Will based on lies.

"I escaped from hospital."

"You weren't officially released? Tell me that's a joke." His face was in pain.

"I would love to. Where is the stuff I stood at your door, yesterday?"

"Still in the washing."

"Shit!"

She had scared Will with her outburst. Nervously he bit his lip, looking at her waiting for instructions. When none came he took charge of that.

"But your over age, right?"

Ariana just looked at him. She tried to say 'sorry' with it and apparently Will understood.

"But you are in my class – you go to Uni..." he stammered.

"I jumped a class."

His face lost all its colour. He got paler than she looked yesterday.

"That makes me your teacher. I am your frigging teacher and you are standing here in your underwear. Understand how this makes me look?"

Ariana understood. She understood too well. She had messed up. And she cursed herself.

When it rang at the door, both of them jumped.

Scared as hell Will turned around, shaking from head to toe he was dragging himself to the door, slowly turning the key around and opening it.

As soon as he saw who was standing in front of the door his heart stopped beating. That was so typical for him. For the first time in his life he does something spontaneous and something that could be misinterpret. And exactly then the police needs to be standing outside his house.

"Mr Horton?" The police officer asked, holding his badge up. "I'm Officer Studwell and I'm with the Salem P.D."

For a second Will thought about saying 'no' but he knew that that wouldn't end well.

"Yes. I am."

"Is a certain Miss Fallon currently staying at your house."

Will didn't want to answer this. He now knew where this was going to end. He already saw the trouble coming towards him.

"Yeah."

"Sorry. What did you say?"

"I said: Yes, sir. She is here."

Officer Studwell obviously cared about the Sir, the first answer wasn't respectful enough but his face relaxed as he heard Will's second answer.

"So you're confessing ... That makes my job a hell of a lot easier. You are under arrest for child abduction."

Seemingly the officer wasn't giving Will the benefit of the doubt. In his eyes Will was just another criminal, another bad guy.

"Will?"

As wasn't the situation bad enough, Ariana showed up in the corridor, wearing nothing except her underwear. Just like those films everything was going wrong today. And that's after yesterday where Will couldn't been happier.

"Are you Miss Fallon?"

Ariana knew she had brought Will even more trouble. Mouthing a 'Sorry' she nodded.

With that nod Officer Studwell turned around to Will, fixating a point in his eyes. Happy to have caught a big pervert he smiled at him. It was a cold smile, a smile showing who was in charge of the situation.

"So you're not only under arrest for child abduction but also for suspicion of child molesting."

Will didn't believe his ears? Him, a child molester? What he heard was worse than what he had imagined. He saw himself already in jail, sitting locked up for the rest of his life. Behind him Ariana had started to cry.

"NO! He wasn't doing anything wrong! It was all me!"

But the officer Studwell wasn't looking at her. He waved at his colleague still sitting in the car. The second officer came, not enthusiastic at all. When he passed Will, by now already in hand cuffs, he stopped.

"William Horton?"

Will just nodded. The scare of the police officers at his door at the wrong time and the wrong place still sat in his bones.

"Roman Brady's grandchild?"

Nodding again.

The officer Studwell was surprised. He looked Will in the face and a small flame of hope started in his heart. He had a chance of coming free. Of getting rid of the handcuffs. But just as he tried to smile and the officer who arrested him he saw how the face of his officer changed. Previously it was unfriendly but precise but under Will's look it changed. The lips moved up, showing first a smile and then a laughter. It was one of those laughters that haunted everyone hearing it. It was a laughter going right through Will.

"That is hilarious!" He looked at Will, harassing him with his words. "That was your intention? Being raised by a member of the police you decided to turn away from the rightful path and you chose a life in sin. First being a faggot and then abducting and molesting a minor. You are in trouble Will. And this time even your granddad can't get you out of that."

Will closed his eyes. He had been around EJ and Justin Kiriakis long enough to know that everything he would say in anger could be used against him in court. So as hard as it was not to say anything, not to defend himself and his honour he said quiet. Praying that Sonny would see him like this.

As Will was accompanied to the car, he saw Sonny running down the street. Well that was just what he needed. Why had exactly this day to be the one to become messed up like this? What did Will do deserve all this?

"Excuse me, Officers. What just happened here?" Sonny asked politely though he was coughing for breath.

"Oh. Look at your boyfriend …" Officer Studwell pronounced the word 'boyfriend' just as he was spitting it in front of Sonny's feet. "Looking so worried and he won't be able to help you."

Looking at Sonny's face that just turned determined and cold as stone he slowly said: "Not even your daddy lawyer will get that precious little boyfriend of yours out of this."

Will saw that Sonny could stay quiet a lot longer. He knew Sonny wanted to say something to defend him and Will.

"Don't Sonny. Don't make it worse."

He was whispering to him, not wanting the officer to pick his words up. But he did it anyway.

"Listen to him. Listen to your little fairy boyfriend here."

Will saw how Sonny bit on his lip trying to stay calm. He knew it was hard on Sonny he always interfered when he was confronted with bigotry.

"Will, what happened?" Obviously Sonny had decided not to answer to the officer but to overhear him and his choice of words.

Before Will could answer the second officer lead Ariana out of the house, letting the door fall into the lock. Ariana, still dressed in her underwear but with a blanket over her shoulders looked at the floor.

Sonny quickly connected the dots and realised what just had happened. He was raising one of his eyebrows and Will could her the mute question coming through this. Sonny asked Will whether he was right with his suspicion. When Will nodded almost imperceptibly he saw an unbelieving look on Sonny's face. Seemingly Sonny couldn't believe that the officer had no doubts.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you once again for all the lovely reviews. I never thought it would be that important but it really keeps me going. :D So thank you for that, you are the people I do that for anyway ... I hope to get the rest of the story all posted until the weekend. I'll move to a new town, so it would be nice to finish the story 'til then... Let's hope it goes well.. :D xxx**

Sonny opened the front door to their house. He couldn't believe what he just saw. Couldn't understand? Wasn't Ariana 18 yet? Couldn't she be were she wanted to be?

When he put down the rolls he just bought he regretted his choice of leaving Will alone. He should've been with him. Should've tried to hide Ariana.

Sonny couldn't relax, he was walking up and down in the kitchen. Back and forth. Back and forth. There must be something he could do. He ought to help Will. Without hesitating a second he ran out the door, down the steps, jumped into his car.

While he drove like a berserk down the streets, around the corners and through pace limited zones he tried to figure out what to do next. What was he allowed to say? What was he allowed to share?

With squeaking brakes he brought his car to stop. Without greeting the gardeners in the front yard he climbed the stairs, pressing the old, heavy wooden door open. As soon as he was inside the mansion he shouted as strong and loud as he could.

"DAD!"

Almost immediately he saw his dad running into the hall. Surprised to see Sonny so shaken and troubled he stopped and took a long look at his son.

"Sonny. What on earth happened?"

Sonny knew that his father could read him like he could read Will. Part of that made him such a perfect lawyer.

"It's Will. He has been arrested. We need to get him out."

His dad stumbled a bit. Sonny knew that he would love to help, that it itched in his fingers to do the right thing but he also knew that his mother wouldn't let him. Adrienne Kiriakis still had trouble with Sonny's boyfriend choice. She had been troubled about it for all that time. Not only was Will a Horton but also Sami Brady's son. She never stopped moaning and bitching about that. Sonny stopped listening eventually but he knew his dad was caught in the middle.

"Son. You know I want to help. I really want to but you know your mother..." He started speaking but stopped as soon as Adrienne went into the hall. Pretending not to know that the conversation stopped because of her she hugged Sonny and kissed him on the cheek.

"What is with me?"

Sonny swallowed. He had no time to fight her of. Will was in jail. There wasn't time to bond over cookies and coffee. There just wasn't any time.

"Will is jail."

The eyes of his mother widened, her lips were pressed together. She was thinking something and propably thinking about saying it aloud.

"Mom. I don't have time for you to say 'I told you so' or some other bitching about my boyfriend. I really don't."

Justin turned to Sonny. He was putting as much love and understanding in his look as possible.

"Let's go in the salon. You can tell me story from the beginning. And then I promise you I try to take his case."

Sonny nodded. That was a deal. Talking for a lawyer. Talking about all the stuff Will and him kept to himself for the best.

When his parents had sat down and he was sure they would carefully listen to him he closed his eyes for a moment and started speaking.

"Will has a daughter." Sonny noticed the looks on his parents' faces but he didn't address them. "It goes around 18 years back now. Back then he had a one night stand with Gaby Hernandez. It was before we got together. Anyway, Nick Fallon then blackmailed Will in giving up the parental rights. Maybe you can find it in you to understand in how much pain Will was. We had given up on seeing her ever again after Will and lived on with our lives.

But one day suddenly, I guess it was hardly a week ago or something Nick and Gaby called and asked Will to donate blood to save her live. Of course he did. He spoke to her in the hospital, without saying who he really was.

Yesterday early evening she stood on our doorstep trying to find out the truth as she said. So we talked and had quite a good time."

"But that doesn't explain what happened to Will at all, Sonny."

Sonny looked at his parents for the first time while he was telling that story. His mother had stood up and had been standing in front of the big window to the right. She was looking out, Sonny wasn't sure that still heard him.

"Ariana slept at our last place. And she looked like it just wearing her underwear."

Justin looked at his son. Sonny read at his look that he knew were this story was headed.

"So they arrested Will because of child molesting?"

Sonny nodded.

"But you believe in his innocence, right?"

His father looked approvingly and started to smile.

"Sure thing I do."

"So you will talk to him. Listen to him, dad. Be his lawyer, please."

His dad looked at Adrienne. His wife didn't show any movement. Then he was turning his head towards Sonny. He saw the pain and the hope Sonny was in. That was the moment he decided.

"I would be honoured to be called William Horton's lawyer."

Sonny stood up and fell into his dad's arms. It was a movement reminding both of them of Sonny's childhood.

"Sonny?" His mother turned around destroying this moment of peace.

"Yes, mom?"

He feared everything she was about to say. He loved his mother with all his heart and it hurt him to see or to hear she didn't approve of Will. It hurt him that she still couldn't live with his choice. It wasn't a fling anymore. Will and him were committed enough to count as spouses, though they didn't technically. But his mom wouldn't get tired of telling Sonny to leave Will. As if she really thought she had any chance of succeeding.

"Don't you think … that It would be better …. if you … ?"

He knew what she was trying to say to him. She knew what she was implying.

"Are you coming, Dad?"

Sonny was determined to overhear the imprudence of her, just addressing his father. His father looked at his wife went over to her, mouthing something to her. She shook her head and went out of the room.

Both of the men looked after her.


	12. Chapter 12

Will felt the cold bars on his forehead as he was pressing his head towards them. He still couldn't believe he was in jail. He remembered his dad telling him from prison, his mother his relatives. He never imagined him to get to jail one day. He always thought he wasn't enough Brady or Horton to throw his life away like this.

"Will?"

Just as he closed his eyes and went to the plank bed he heard the voice he was longing to hear.

"Sonny?"

He felt the love in the room before he saw him.

"I'm here baby, I'm here."

Will was immediately relaxed as he saw Sonny on the other side of the bars. How happy he was to see him here in this desolate atmosphere.

"I was thinking …. ," Will said, reaching for Sonny's palm and pressing it gently to his lips. Interupted by kisses he said: "Call … your … Dad..."

"Well, I am indeed glad you said this. Sonny already did."

Will's eyes widened as he saw Justin coming through to him. Mouthing a 'Love you' to Sonny he shook Justin's hand.

The interrogation by Sonny and his Dad had been going on for the past hour. They had covered nearly everything. They had talked about yesterday, about the day at the hospital. The only thing they hadn't covered just yet was the blackmail through Nick. But just as Will thought about that, Sonny's dad had already asked.

"What was the blackmailing material that Nick used?"

Will sighed heavily. He wasn't really happy to tell the father of his boyfriend that he tried to somebody.

"When I was 14 I shot EJ DiMera and my Dad went to prison instead of me."  
That all came out in a blur, so fast spoke Will. He wanted to get it behind him. To leave this room. To leave this Sonny was the only think he thought about right now.

"Sonny?"

Justin turned to Sonny to seek confirmation for that Will just said. He found it in Sonny's eyes.

"I know that Dad. I know it since before Ariana was even born."

Justin cleared his throat. After a while where he just looked at the table, he lifted his head, looking right into Will's eyes. Will couldn't make out what feelings where displayed in his eyes. Was it disappointment, disgust, fear for the sake of his son?

"Ok. Will, I want you to know that I love you like I love Sonny."

That was a surprise for Will. He didn't expect that. Looking at Sonny he noticed his relaxed face. Sonny knew it? Another surprise.

"I will not outcast you from my family cause you made a bad decision in your life. But I don't want to get your hopes up, guys. You are facing serious charges."

Justin exhales.

"It is going to be tough and your whole past will be examined in detail. But I try my best."

He stood up. Gently pressing his hand on Will's shoulder he looked at his son. Sonny was totally drowning in Will's eyes. Both didn't turn around when Justin left. He had purposely left early. He knew that Sonny and Will needed some time to talk. Some time before a nightmare would come and destroy the happiness they had felt so far.

"Sonny. I am so sor …" Will tried to tell Sonny but was interrupted. Sonny had raised his hand and was pressing on finger on Will's lips.

"Don't ..." His voice was gentle and more understanding than Will deserved. He felt terrible. Will felt like he had done this to Sonny.

"Why are you still with me?" Will smiled agonized.

"I love you. That is all we need. As long as you love me and I love you we are good."

Sonny was looking at Will in worry. There was so much more going on in Will. So much more under the surface.

"Tell me Will, what is wrong?"

As Will opened his mouth Sonny froze. He didn't expect this. Will's voice was shaking, trembling so was his body. Sonny understood that Will had been tense around his father, that Will had try to stay focussed but know with him it was different. Will masks' fell down. He had fear.

"What is if somebody happens to me in jail?"

Sonny reached out with his hand and caught Will's. He caressed the back of it with his thumb, over and over again.

"Nothing's gonna happen to you. Don't worry about it. I love you."

Just as Sonny spoke his last words, the door opened and a police officer came inside.

"We need to go. Time to wrap it up."

Will nodded and stood up. He bowed down kissed Sonny on his forehead and stood up straight. The police officer lead him to the door. Shortly before the door step Will turned around.

"I mean what should happen to me? I'm gay and I am related to Roman Brady. No worries then."

As Will left, Sonny sank down on his chair. Will was right. Will was right. He saw the dangers in jail, the other inmates. Closing the eyes, Sonny prayed. He wasn't religious but he felt this situation required it. Crossing his fingers he prayed silently until his dad came to bring him home.


	13. Chapter 13

Ariana sat on her bed, holding the letter in her hands. Sonny had given it to her today. He hid it in a parcel for her. Ariana had been very surprised to find it. Since it fell to her laps she had hid it under her pillow. She couldn't risk her parents finding it. Her parents, especially Nick controlled her since her escape. He had locked the windows in her room and came checking up on her almost every hour. It had been three days since Will had been arrested.

Her eyes still heard when she was thinking about that morning. She had cried as the police officers had arrested Will. She had cried as she was brought to the station. She had cried during her interrogation. By the time her parents collected her at the station her tears had dried. Angry at her parents, because they had called the police in the first place she had given them both the cold shoulder.

Since that morning Ariana thought about her next move. What should she do? Should she tell her parents that she knew everything or should she keep it to yourself. She fell down onto her bed, that movement made her accidentally cringe the letter. She hadn't even read it yet. She felt that she couldn't. It was from Will and she knew that alone that move could bring Will in even more trouble. She wasn't allowed to have contact to him as the woman at the station said to her. They put it this way though Ariana knew that they were trying to keep Will away from her. They all thought Will was guilty of the crimes they accused him of.

Carefully she slid with her fingers over the paper suddenly plucking up her courage and opening it. A little sheet fell out. She saw Will's handwriting, the small letters, the small gaps between lines. He hadn't wrote a lot. Some lines, hard to read due to the smallness.

_Dear Ariana,_

_Thank you for standing on our door that day. You made me the happiest I have been in 18 years. And I mean that. When I rejected you it felt that part of me had died. And it felt like this for years now. I couldn't live with that decision. So thank you._

_It wasn't your fault. Nothing of that what happens to me is your fault. Nothing. If you are truly like me and Sonny swears you are, you are trying to blame yourself. If this is what you feel you have to stop it! Everything that has happened to me were coincidences._

_I am glad to got to see you after all this time,_

_if I get out of here, I would love to see you again._

_Yours, Will_

Ariana had read this letter so many times that the writing had burned itself into her mind. She knew all the word by heart. She imagined Will sitting on his plank bed reading, writing and sleeping. She imagined him walking up and down waiting for someone to visit him. And imagining that Ariana felt a lump in her throat.

She curled herself into her blanket, got her iPod from her nightstand and turned the music up. It was her way to blend out the rest of the world. She had learned that music help doing that when her parents first fought. Lately they fought even more, she heard the muffled voices fading through the house at night. And she knew what they fought about. About her being at Will's. But she didn't feel sorry. She really didn't.

Suddenly she felt a touch on her shoulder. She pulled out the ear plugs turning around. Bowed over her was her mother looking concerned.

"Mom? What is it?"

Ariana worried herself. What did her mother want, especially having this face expression.

"Please come downstairs, there is somebody who wants to talk to you."

Ariana was surprised but didn't ask anymore questions. As her mother left her room, she threw a look into the mirror checking her hair out. With a smile she walked downstairs and into the living room.

When Ariana stepped into the bright lighted room she saw a woman sitting around the table. She was maybe 50 years old, had brown hair with some grey parts. Her eyes were looking at the documents lying in front of her. As soon as her parents and her heard Ariana' steps, the woman stood up.

"Hello. My name is Clara Miller."

Ariana didn't say anything. What did this woman want from her? Who was that woman?

"I'm with the Salem P.D. I am a psychologist and here to help you."

Ariana crossed her arms in front of her chest. Talking about what, she asked herself. Will hadn't done anything. She didn't want to talk to some kind of shrink.

"Mhm."

Ariana was trying to get this woman to stop smiling and being friendly to her. She didn't care about her at all.

"Let's sit down, shall we?"

She looked at her parents but they didn't look back. As soon as she sat down at the table, her mother came, kissed her shoulder and disappeared with her dad in the kitchen, giving Ariana and Mrs Miller privacy.

"So. What you want to talk about?" The woman was still smiling at her.

"Nothing." Her voice was cold and uninterested.

"Describe Will Horton to me, please."

"Why? Are you interested how he looks? Cause I have to disappoint you then – he is gay."

"Please, Ariana. Stop the irony. This is serious."

Ariana jumped from her chair. Her chair fell down, causing a loud sound.

"Serious? It's all a big joke to me – when you arrest my teacher when he has done absolutely nothing wrong!"

"So he is your teacher."

Ariana bit herself on her lip. What if she made Will's situation worse by saying this? She decided to sit down again, and swore herself she would stay calm. For Will's sake.

"Do you like him?"

Could she answer this question without making things worse? Could this question hurt Will in any way? She nodded.

After two hours that went on like this – Ariana answering to questions just with a nod or by shaking her head – Mrs Miller said goodbye.

"You are a strong girl, you will get through this."

"Get through what exactly."

Mrs Miller smiled at her. This smile made Ariana furious. It was a stupid smile, a smile saying that Mrs Miller understood. But she didn't. So her smile was fake.

"You will work out reality and delusion. Goodbye."

Ariana said nothing as Mrs Miller stepped out of the door and into the cold evening. Then Ariana closed the door, hitting her hand against it.

"Damn it!" She cursed and ran upstairs. Praying she didn't make anything worse she put the ear plugs back in and turned the volume up.


	14. Chapter 14

Will was sitting on the floor, the wall against his back when he heard the door opening. Knowing what would happen next, he stood up.

Though he only had been in jail 5 days and he already knew the hierarchy. In jail there where certain groups protecting their members. Will had no one. As a 'faggot' and a 'snitch' the other inmates despised him.

In the first hour behind bars he already met Jason. Jason was twice as big as Will and the one person every other inmate listened to. Will didn't know what Jason had done to end up in jail but he didn't want to know. It would only make him scarier to him. He heard on the steps that entered the room who it was.

"Jason."

Will didn't look at Jason, that would only provoke him. Though Will knew that his very moves were able to provoke Jason. The first day he made the mistake to look at him. That was a punch in the stomach. The second day he didn't look at him, that also was a mistake and was rewarded with him being dunked into the toilet.

"Look at you. All alone."

Jason's face came near to his. Will tried hard not to breath in. He imagined Sonny being in front of him.

"I heard you are in hear cause you had some urges you had to try at a child, naughty, naughty."

Will shook lightly his head while still standing pressed against the wall.

"That's not true."

Jason laughed. While laughing Will saw his teeth, their rotten smell reached Will's nose. He tried not to breath in.

"See. I wouldn't guessed that either. You are not the person to just take what you want, are you?"

With those words his hands wandered down at Will's sides, his neck, his chest, his backside. Heavenly breathing in Will closed the eyes and tried to wind himself out of this uncomfortable situation. He knew Jason was playing with him.

"Not so fast, Will. Sweet Will."

Jason lick his lips and showed his teeth. Will knew what was coming towards him. He had seen enough documentaries about wild animals. The look was the same. It was a threat without any sound.

"I haven't finished with you yet. I've heard your hearing is today."

Will didn't say anything. He knew that he wouldn't get out without his daily punches. Especially, when Jason might feared never to see Will again. When he feared to loose his toy.

Will got tired of fighting Jason. He had done that the first days but when he just gotten even more hurt. He had given up fighting his destiny. He was just thinking about court. About the few hours he was safe. That few hours where he could see Sonny again.

Sonny hadn't been here for two days and Will understood that. It was hard to visit him at visitation hours. The coffee shop couldn't be on its own especially now when Chad was out of town. Sonny had no one to cover his shifts and that was fully ok. Will wouldn't want Sonny to see him like this anyway.

Will felt so weak. Being a man. But here in jail he felt so small. So weak. So fragile.

"Kiss me."

Jason demanded. Will knew how this was going down. Kissing him meant implying he was gay. He would get hurt. Not kissing him meant not following his rules. He would get hurt.

"Never." His voice came out stronger than Will actually was.

He pressed his eyes closed expecting the first punch. And it came. It came with such a strength straight to his jaw that Will heard it crack. The second and third punch landed in the region around his stomach causing him to throw up blood. He tasted the cold and metal taste on his tongue. The fourth and fifth were kicks to his backs, going straight to his spine and leaving a feeling of numbness there.

"So Willy. We are nearly through but you need to be even more beautiful for court."

With those words Jason pulled Will up, so that she stood. Will's legs were shaking and every move hurt like hell. He felt the drying blood on his tongue on his lips.

Jason pushed him against the bars of the cell. The force of the impact was so tremendous that he immediately felt the blood running along the sides of his face. He put his hands to his forehead, feeling the open wound, the blood. He had an head ache and when everything started to spin around him he lay down on the floor.

"Mr Horton?"

Will didn't move. Everything hurt. He could literally not move even opening his eyes caused his cell to spin.

"You need to get up. Your hearing starts in an hour."

Sonny. Will needed to get to court. He needed to see Sonny. That was the force pulling him up to his feet, pushing him to the sink. Carefully trying not to make it worse, Will cleared his forehead. It was swollen one saw the wound flaunting in the middle.

He limbed back to his bed, pulling up the suit they had brought him. Under big struggle he climbed into his trousers, feeling nothing in his legs except the pure pain. He tried to button his shirt but his hands felt too numb to do it. He decided to let someone do it.

Slowly and in pain Will limbed towards the exit. He was leaving his cell and for a short moment he had hop that everything was going to work out. He had the best lawyers on his side. Next to Justin EJ had offered his help. Will had agreed. EJ helped him a lot in the past and maybe it showed that EJ didn't hate Will for shooting him. Sadly, he wouldn't see his family. His mother and grandparents were out of town together with his siblings. He wasn't even sure whether EJ and his dad told them. His dad was the only one from his direct family who would be there. But he wasn't there as a visitor but as a witness. He had to confirm that he went to prison for Will.

Will breathed out as he heard the buzzing from the door, meaning he was out of jail and away from his nightmares.


	15. Chapter 15

"Will?" Sonny came running towards him, in his face Will saw pure fear.

"My god, Will. What happened to you?"

Will drowned in Sonny's looks even though he didn't want his pity. He was just lucky to see him. Will shook his head, almost immediately holding it still cause the world around him started to spin again.

"Jail happened to me."

Sonny looked so concerned that Will grabbed Sonny's hand and pressed in gently. He knew that Sonny wouldn't understand but right now Will couldn't been happier.

Justin who came around the corner looked at Will and sighed. He knew that this was jail. That being gay in jail ended like this. He looked at his son seeing true worries in his eyes.

"Sonny. You need to take the visitor entry. I'm sorry."

Sonny nodded. He had known that. But he didn't want to. He wanted to sit with Will for the rest of the day, holding his hand, assuring him everything would work out.

"I love you, do you hear. Believe in yourself, Will."

Sonny kissed Will, making him forget all the bruises, the scars. The pain, the hurt. In this moment nothing made Will scared of what was to come.

"I love you, too." Will said when the moved away from each other.

"I am tasting blood. Why do I taste blood?"

"How am I supposed to know that. Don't kiss me then."

Sonny smiled.

"Never ever. Come here."

The next kiss was less long but Will but all his love in this kiss. All the thank you's he wanted to tell Sonny for so long but never got around to.

"Boys. Break it up. We need to get in."

Justin interrupted the both.

"I love it how your dad still behaves as if we were around 20."

Sonny laughed.

"I hope he never stops."

Will looked at Sonny all the way to the door. Only when Justin pushed the door open Will stopped looking for the black hair. He looked into the hall. It looked like one of those courts you see on TV. He saw the Jury looking at him together with Gaby and Nick sitting on the side of the prosecutor.

And he saw EJ looking at him. His look wasn't full of pity. He was the only one looking like always. As Will tried to get to his chair next to EJ he simply said: "Morning William. Glad to see you." Will huged him from behind.

"Thanks. Good morning to you, too."

As soon as he sat down he turned around and saw Sonny. Somehow he had managed to find a seat near him so that Will could see him out of the corner of his eye. That made him calmer and he felt how he became less and less nervous.

"All rise."

Will saw how all the people in the court stood up including Sonny, Justin and EJ next to him. He felt himself standing up to.

This wasn't it. The court. The day everything would be decided. It was like in a dream. He stood up but didn't feel like it at all.

He saw the judge coming to the hall, going up those steps to her chair and sitting down. When she sat everyone else sat down, too. Looking down to her files she read out loud.

"Today is Monday, the 21st September 2030. This is the hearing for William Robert Horton, file reference 4K76U. It's the state and Nicholas and Gabriella Josephina Fallon against William Robert Horton. William Robert Horton is arrested for child abduction and molesting. The hearing is hereby opened."

She judge looked down to the prosecutor. The man, Will didn't recognize stood up.

"The prosecution pleads for five years in a state prison."

The judge nodded and the prosecutor sat down again. Next Justin stood up and declared with a loud, sincere voice: "We pleads for not guilty in every point, your honour."

The judge looked down at Will and as much as wanted to make himself small and invisible he sat up straight and looked to the wall. He wasn't brave enough to look at the judge.

Will dived away for a moment thinking about his life. He thought about the choices he made in life, the people he met, the people he loved. As he picked up the attention in the court he noticed how Nick sat at the witness stand.

The prosecutor was asking him question. Will fixated Nick but Nick only looked at the person asking him the questions.

"So you are the father of Ariana Grace Fallon, the husband of Gabriella Josephina Fallon and a cousin of the defendant?"

"Yes. Sir." Nick's voice was steady and didn't tremble. He was sincere about that answer.

"Can you tell me what happened on the 16th September?"

"Yes. Me and my wife went to the hospital around eleven o'clock. Trying to visit our daughter. When we went into her room we couldn't find her anywhere. After asking the doctors whether the had a clue where she could be we called the police."

The prosecutor was content. He sat down leaving Nick as a witness to Justin.

"Why was Miss Fallon in the hospital?"

Nick didn't want to answer that. Will saw the reluctance in his eyes and heard it in his voice.

"She cut herself."

"Really? She just cut herself? I have a document from the doctor and a psychologist, both saying that it was an attempted suicide."

EJ stood up, giving a piece of paper to the prosecution and to the judge before sitting down again.

"Mr Fallon, could you please tell me what triggered that attempt?"

"Objection!" The prosecutor stood up. "My client cannot know why his daughter attempted suicide.

The judge nodded. And Justin asked the question differently.

"What happened immediately before your daughter went upstairs?"

"We had an argument."

"An argument about something my wife said to my daughter."

"What did Mrs Fallon tell your daughter?"

Nick breathed in before looking at Will. He was speaking slowly and stressed his words.

"She said to her that homosexuality wasn't a disease."

"No further questions." Justin sat back down and Nick went back to his place, too.


	16. Chapter 16

"The prosecution calls Jackson Steven Kiriakis as witness."

Will was surprised. He hadn't known Sonny was going to testify. It made sense though but Will didn't want him standing up there. He would be caught in the middle and he didn't deserve that.

"What is your relationship to the defendant?"

Sonny cleared his throat before he spoke. His voice sounded steady but a bit low.

"William Horton is my boyfriend or life partner, whatever you prefer."

"So you live in a homosexual relationship, Mr Kiriakis?"

"Yes, Sir."

Sonny looked to Will. It was a look full of understanding and love.

"Please tell me when you met Ariana Grace Fallon for the first time."

Sonny closed the eyes for a second.

"Do you mean the very first time?"

"I thought my question was clear enough?"

Sonny nodded. He smiled.

"It was. I just wanted to make sure you are prepared for this. I met Ariana Grace 2015 at the square in Salem. That's when I first saw her."

The prosecutor looked troubled.

"When did you speak to her for the first time?"

Sonny laughed.

"That is much more the thing you should be going for. The first word I spoke to Ariana was when she knocked on our door. At the 15th in the evening around evening."

The prosecutor sat down. EJ stood up, preventing that Justin had to interrogate his own son.

"Describe your boyfriend for me, please."

Sonny looked at Will. Then he turned his head to EJ and looked straight into his eyes.

"He is the kindest and most caring person I know. He is incredibly sensitive and couldn't hurt anyone. That's how he know he could never molest anyone. Especially not a girl."

EJ smiled at Sonny and turned around. Justin mouthed something to him and EJ smiled even more.

EJ hardly sat as the prosecutor walked up to Sonny.

"So your basically saying that William never had an intimate relationship with a woman?"

Sonny swallowed.

"No... I wasn't saying that."

"So you are admitting he had had sex with girls."

Sonny nodded. The prosecutor smiled as he won the case already. Justin stood up again and simply asked "Do you happen to with whom?"

Sonny smiled at his father.

"The only girl Will ever had sex with was the former Gabriella Hernandez. Today's Gabriella Fallon."

"Thank you. This witness is dismissed."

As next witness Gaby went to the stand. Her steps were slow and carefully. She looked to the floor until she reached the stand. Will knew that her reason for doing so was different from Nick's. She was ashamed that she was here against him. After all they had been friends.

The prosecutor walked up and down as he asked Gaby the next question.

"So you were involved with the defendant?"

"A long time ago."

"Would you please describe him?" The prosecutor asked, picking up EJ's question.

"I would describe him in the same way Sonny just did."

Her voice was quiet and shaking. She clearly didn't want to be here.

"Are you sure, Mrs Fallon? Isn't there anything you would like to add?"

Gaby thought about that longer as for the other questions. She looked at Nick. And for a short moment she even glanced at Will before looking back down to her hands.

"Well, back when I was involved with him he was very troubled."

Will sank together. 'Troubled' wasn't a good adjective to be described with. He looked at the Jury but all of their faces were barely moved by their thoughts and feelings.

"Why would you say that?"

Gaby looked at Will. This time her look stayed at his face. He felt that she was getting the strength to talk about that while looking at him.

"Back then Will discovered that he wasn't straight. He was troubled cause he had to figure out who he was."

As soon as Gaby stopped speaking Will felt that her look had moved away from him.

"One last question Mrs Fallon. Would you trust that Mr Horton could molest a child."

Will prayed to god in that very moment. It was important that Gaby was on his side here. He needed her to tell the truth. But he knew that she had to choose in this very moment. She had to choose between her husband and the boy who once knocked her up. He knew what she was going to pick.

"I don't think Will could ever molest a child. Not important whether boy or girl. He wouldn't do that. Never."

Will couldn't believe what he just heard. He looked at Sonny seeing him as surprised as everyone else. Nick was looking angrily at Gaby, while she was just trying to find Will's eyes. As soon as she found them he was mouthing a 'Thank you'.

"If you don't think he could molest a child, why are we here, today?"

Gaby shook her head. She buried her face in her hands. She sobbed.

"I don't know. I guess because Nick wanted this."

"So your husband raised a suspicion against the defendant for no reason?"

Will felt that the prosecutor was stressed. He didn't expect his client to change sides.

"I am not saying that. I guess he had his reasons. For once, our daughter was in his house just dressed in her underwear while being 17 and him being 35."

"Why did you say for once?"

The prosecutor wasn't content with her choice of words. He didn't want the defence to pick those words up, so he picked it up herself trying to prevent further damage.

"Because I fear that my husband is a bigot. And that part of this accusation is based on his believes."

Suddenly there was an uproar in the court, Nick was screaming to his lawyers, the prosecutor was talking to Gaby, EJ was talking to Justin and only Will sat still as if nothing had happened. Gaby caught him very off guard here. He always saw her as someone evil, as monster keeping him away from his daughter. But he seemingly he had forgotten that Nick was the real monster in this fight and that Gaby didn't know anything.


	17. Chapter 17

"I do not have anything against gay people."

Nick tried to defend himself, his words were said fast, coming out of his mouth. He tried to make people believe what he didn't believe on his own.

Justin knew that. Justin also remembered Sonny's bleeding lip and his bruised hand. He remembered Will telling him the true motivation for Nick's scheme.

"So you deny calling Mr Kiriakis a – I quote- 'a faggot' and you also deny punching him?"

Nick was tense. He was caught on his lie and he swore an oath. After a moment of thinking about his options Nick looked cold at Justin.

"No I don't deny that. But I don't have anything against gays."

Justin laughed a little. Just so much that the judge wouldn't catch him on it. He turns to the jury and adresses them some seconds before turning back to Nick.

"Punching someone who is gay and calling him a faggot doesn't really support your claim, does it?"

That was the part where Nick lost it. He jumped up, built himself up in front of Justin and shouted.

"I don't care about gays. As long as they don't rub it in my face and as long as they don't get my girlfriend pregnant!"

The whole court was silent after Nick's outburst. Nobody said anything. Not the judge, nor the prosecution, nor Justin or EJ. Just Will was sitting there, feeling like somebody hit him over the head with a frying pan. He'd never thought that Nick would burst out like this. He'd always been so smart.

Justin regained his composure as one of the firsts in the buildig.

"Could you clarify that for me?"

Nick swallowed hard before answering.

"Before Ariana Grace was born, Will got Gaby pregnant."

Will thought he didn't hear right. Was Will actually lying in court? Under oath? Lying when three people in this room knew the truth about Will and Ariana?

"So what you are saying is that before Ariana Gaby had been pregnant once before?"

Nick nodded. Will, who where to look saw the look Nick threw to Gaby. It was a look who showed the hierarchy their relationship.

Justin nodded, not able to do anything else.

When Nick was asked to sit down, Will knew that it was your turn know. He had to say what he'd known and what he had done.

As he was sitting in the witness stand he saw the whole court from a different perspective. And he felt all the gazes and stares on his skin. They left little marks where they met his skin. He felt Nick staring at him, trying to intimidate him. He felt the careful looks of Gaby, praying for forgiveness. He felt looks full with approval and hope from both, Justin and EJ. And he felt looks so full of love that Will could suffocate in them. He knew who looked at him that way and he thanked him with a thought.

"When did you speak to Ariana Fallon for the first time?"

"To begin of the semester in the economics class 1A."

The prosecutor looked at him like an hunter waiting for the animal to tap into the trap.

"So you were here teacher?"

Will sighed. He knew that was to come.

"Yes. I am."

"Did you also speak outside the classes with her?"

Will nodded, knowing this answer wouldn't help him at all. But he was determined to say the truth even if they were to sent him to prison.

"She came in my office one day and we first talked about her report and then we talked about me being gay. And also homosexuality in general."

"That sounds to be a strange talk between a teacher and a student, Mr Horton."

Will shook the head.

"Aren't teachers supposed to help their students, even with questions not concerning school? Teachers should help students in more than one situation."

"And because that was still to public for you, you invited her home."

Will shook his head forcefully.

"No. I never invited her to my home and I also never told her my address. My relationship to Ariana never went beyond the teacher student relationship."

Will knew that that wasn't exactly true but who would notice. And if they were to find out the whole looked different anyway. She would be his daughter and everything would be changing. At least that is what he hoped.

"But you visited her in hospital."

Will's eyes were looking to Sonny. He hadn't told that to him but Sonny didn't seem to mind. He was just looking back and forming his mouth to a kiss. He sent him that kiss through the room. And that made Will stronger.

"I had the same blood group and the needed a donation. So of course I came when Gaby called me."

The prosecutor who was, when he asked that question sure he would trap Will, now looked rather confused. He couldn't join the dots anymore.

"Why would Gabriella Fallon call you?"

Will looked to Gaby. He tried to get her approval but she didn't say anything, didn't move.

"Because she knew I had the same blood group."

"How did she know that?"

Will knew that this was the moment he had waited for for a long time. This was the moment to tell the truth about him, Nick and Ariana. This was the moment his life could change. Forever.

"Ariana is my daughter. Gaby was just pregnant once and I am the biological father of Ariana Grace Fallon."


	18. Chapter 18

That was a reveal the prosecutor had to digest. It was a reveal the whole court had to take in, the whole court had to understand.

But the prosecutor didn't give up. He narrowed his eyes to slits and lowered his position. He reminded him of Jason and suddenly the bruises on Will's face started to hurt again. He felt his blood running to his head, felt that he was blushing. Looking down he awaited the next question of the prosecutor.

"So you are telling us, that Ariana Grace Fallon is your daughter?"

Will nodded, but knowing he needed to give a verbal response he took all his courage together and answered with a strong voice.

"Yes."

"So why aren't you noted down in her birth certificate?"

Will swallowed.

"I gave up my parental rights before she was even born."

That was just the thing the prosecutor had been waiting for. He sensed the chance he was waiting for. For him it wasn't important to prove Will's innocence or to keep him out of jail. He was just interested in winning this case. And winning meant bringing Will down. And Will knew that. He saw the flinch around the corner of his eyes straight after Will answered that question.

"William Horton, can I ask you a personal question?"

Will wondered where this question would lead them. What could be more personal that a court hearing poking around in his past. Poking around in parts of his past he tried to kept hidden for so long. He felt like the people would open long healed wounds.

"Mr. Horton? Have you understood my question? Were you regretting this decision?"

The question pulled him out of his thoughts. Was he regretting this choice? What kind of dumb question was this?

"Yes, I did."

"Thank you, your honour."

EJ stood up, for a second he was surprised before realising that this was just stupid. He knew what EJ was going to ask him. There were aiming on why he had given up his rights? And that lead to him shooting EJ all those years ago.

"William. Would you please tell me, why you gave up your rights?"

Will nodded, trusting that EJ and Justin knew where they were headed, knowing what they were doing.

"That is kind of a long story. The first time Nick tried to get me to sign away my rights was in the hospital, stating my mom was just trouble and that she was responsible for Gaby getting in early labour. But I didn't want to give up my rights. That was when Nick lost it. When I was back together with Sonny … I mean Jackson, he visited Jackson at work and they got in a fight. When I addressed him why he was so determined for me to give up my rights he said it would be better for our daughter to have a 'normal' family, being raised away from us gays. And when I still wouldn't do it he blackmailed me."

EJ looked at me. Will saw the friendly brown eyes. He had changed over these past years. Back when he had been fourteen Will had hated him for forcing his mom to marry him. Trying to protect her, Will dealt with it the only way he knew how – being a Brady and a Horton he decided to shoot EJ. And even at that time he just meant to do serious harm to him, but never to kill him.

When Will explained the basis of the blackmailing he saw in all the wide open eyes. He had told them everything, not knowing what was going to happen to him. For the first time he spoke the truth. Just like coming out all those years ago he felt like this heavy weigh had just been lifted from his shoulders. He scanned the room for Sonny's eyes, found them looking at him full of pride and support. He smiled at the though of Sonny. The thought of him staying over all the crap Will pulled when they were together. In this moment nothing could be wrong. Will didn't care about the things said to him, the things that were going to happen to him. Right now he was filled with the thought of Sonny being there through the good, the bad, the worse and the worst of times. What he and Sonny had would last forever. And while his parents and grandparents had never succeeded in maintaining a working realationship he knew he had one with Sonny. He had one since 17 years. And he was proud of it. Nearly as proud as Sonny looked at him right this moment.

When I get out of here and when I am a free man again, I will …

"So William. You are saying you shot me 21 years ago and Lucas Horton went to prison for you."

Will nodded. It felt wrong. Talking about this with EJ, pretending EJ didn't know this. Pretending it was all knew for him.

"I am sorry to draw a line there."

The judge was interrupting EJ as well Will in their thoughts.

"I am a bit lost here. So you," the judge looked at Nick and Gaby, "filed a claim against the father of your child, saying he tried to hurt your child?"

The prosecutor stood up.

"My clients were aware of the situation but based on what the police officers saw..."

"I am going to stop you right there. You filed a claim against molesting, when you knew the was her father and you also knew he was homosexual and no interest what so ever in your daughter?"

The judge looked annoyed by Nick and Gaby. In this moment Will was so happy of the law system. The judge had the ability to speak him free of the accusations, and it didn't matter what the jury said. But the judge turned her had and looked at him.

"You are aware that we need to have another hearing concerning the shooting of you," She looked at EJ. "EJ DiMera." Both nodded, unable to speak one more word.

The judge looked down at her papers.

"I am going to do an unusual step, right here. But I am still in my boundaries, don't worry."

She said, seemingly fearing to get fought or sued by the prosecutor after the hearing.

"I am going to let the jury decide what they think, Mr Horton. After that we will have a little talk about the custody right. And while the jury is thinking about your situation, I want Miss Fallon to be brought in."

Will nodded and stood up. His knees were shaking, while he waited for the jury and the judge to leave. He couldn't believe what was just happened. Hope grew inside him, a lot of hope. He would see Sonny again, he would be able to live a long and happy live. And given the last words the judge said he even thought about getting custody. He knew that wasn't likely to happen but anyway. It would be all good. It's going to be fine. He said this to himself, hearing Sonny in his mind. How often did they swear this to each other.

"It's all going to be fine." He whispered this more to him than to anybody else as he was sitting back in his chair. But when he looked for Sonny's face in the crowed he saw how Sonny laughed. And with that he knew that Sonny had understood him anyway.

**(I don't know anything about courts in the USA. All things happening and happened in this hearing are just fictional a lot is from films but they aren't always right. Just imagine it could go like this...)**


	19. Chapter 19

Ariana had just made herself a coffee as she had heard the door bell. As the police officer had explained the situation to her she didn't even hesitate for a little second. She knew that she had to help Will. But as soon as she sat in the police car some doubts creeped into her mind. Was she willing to have Will as her father? Did she really want to sue anybody for custody? She loved her parents. Yes, they had lied to her face and behind their back. Yes, her father had plotted schemes and wasn't at all a very uncomplicated person but he was her father. And she loved him in some messed up way.

Right now she was standing inside the court hall. She had opened the door before she was asked to do so. She guessed that was due to her nervousness and her curiosity. And standing inside the hall she was glad that she had a chance to follow the hearing. She was burning to know whether Will got out.

She came in and nobody noticed her, so she said down somewhere in the last rows.

"What are you doing here?"

She heard a whispered next to her and turned her head to the direction of the voice. First she had a hard time realising who was asking her that question but after seconds she recognized the dark hair and the hazelnut eyes.

"Sonny?"

Dumb question. What was he going to say? That he wasn't Sonny? That he just looked like the Sonny she knows? So Ariana decided to just answer his questions.

"I just couldn't wait outside anymore, am too anxious I guess."

Sonny smiled at me, trying to take away those feelings and strangely in worked. It was like his brown warm eyes understood how I was felling, like they were able to erase all doubts in my head. They erased all hurting thoughts until there was nothing left but hope.

"All rise."

Ariana stood up and looked to the front of the room. She saw the jury coming in, the judge. She saw Will standing up, too looking to the wall. He looked terrible. Even at that distance she saw his bruises and his black eye. She had done this to him. She was responsible for this. But then again, he had said to her that that wasn't her fault. And Ariana hold on to those words, hoping he meant them at the time. Hoping he wouldn't hold a grudge against her. It would've been too painful too loose him when she just found him.

"We, the jury find William Robert Horton … "

Like in those casting shows on TV the jury member wouldn't continue speaking just yet. They obviously wanted everyone to close their eyes and praying to their god. Ariana gazed at Sonny and he did exactly that. She smiled. How nice must it be to find this one time love. She knew her father had been wrong all along. She remembered her talk to Will in his office. She shouldn't have asked whether he was ill. There was nothing sick about it. A love like this even between two man couldn't be wrong. It was one of those loves you dream about when you listen to a love song or when watching a love movie. Unconditional. Forever.

" … accused of molesting and abduction of the minor Ariana Grace Fallon not guilty."

When the jury spoke the last two words I felt Sonny jumping up and yelling "YES! Knew it!".

Ariana saw Will turning around and looking at him, she felt that he had a hard time staying where he was. She somehow knew that all he wanted to do was running towards Sonny and kissing him with all the love he felt in this very moment. Ariana saw that he was relieved, as if a major stone fell of his chest. He smiled a smile Ariana knew and loved. It was the same smile she sometimes wore on my lips. A smile lighting up the whole world.

"That was the state and Nicholas and Gabriella Josephina Fallon against the defendant William Robert Horton, file reference 4K76U. You can appeal against the verdict within the next four months. The hearing is closed!"

The judge let the hammer fell down and she saw Will coming towards Sonny, heard his yell, felt his happiness, felt his relief. Araina looked at them, hugging. She felt awkward staring at this scene but couldn't help it. It was so moving. And Sonny and Will didn't notice my stare.

Will had buried his face in Sonny's neck, while stroke his neck, his upper back, his lower back. Sometimes they interrupted their hug for little kisses. Sonny kissed Will on his cheeks, his nose and shortly on his lips before he pulled back. Ariana saw Will's disappointed face when he did that, and she literally heard Will's thought when he closed the distance between their faces again, pressing his lips on Sonny's. His hand went to his hair, he fondled with it while sinking deeper and deeper in.

She coughed slightly, not wanting them to get out of each others hug quickly and destroying the magic of this moment. When Will and Sonny turned towards me, I saw them smile. And before Ariana knew what she was doing she felt herself running the few steps she was away, towards Will. As soon as she reached him she fell into his arms. And as he had hugged Sonny before he hugged her with the same intensity but of course in a different manner.

"I am so glad. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." She muffled in his suit.

Will chuckled and pushed her away just to look at her eyes. She saw the blue going straight through her, making her all warm and fuzzy inside.

"I got out, remember?"

When he pulled her back into his arms, she laughed and felt how her eyes got wet.

"Sorry for ruining your T-shirt, by the way."

"If you knew how often Sonny destroyed my T-shirts you would see him through different eyes."

Sonny laughed and whispered in Will's ear something he didn't want Ariana to hear but she heard in anyway.

"Was that a sex reference, Horton?"

Will laughed at him, pressing his lips shortly on Sonny's before looking at Ariana.

"You so heard that, did you?"

She nodded, not saying anything but Will understood. Sonny blushed.


	20. Chapter 20

Will still held Sonny's hand. He hadn't left his side since his non-guilty verdict. He felt there was nothing else important right now. He knew why he was sitting in this office together with Nick, Gaby, Justin, EJ, Ariana, Lucas and Sonny. He knew this was about his attempted murder on EJ but he didn't feel anything but happiness and freedom.

"So. First things first. We have an attempted murder here and obviously we can't overlook that. You, Will, knowingly lied and with that you were an obstruction of justice. And you Lucas have lied as well. But because you were a minor at that time and EJ didn't press any charges, you could just probation."

Will felt how Sonny pressed his hand together, obviously glad.

But Nick coughed.

"Sorry, but are you seriously saying he gets away with that?"

The judge looked at him cold. She obviously didn't like him very much and tried to hide it. But knowing that she wasn't the judge anymore the didn't hide it very well.

"You, Mr Fallon could get arrested for violating your parole rules because you punched Mr Kiriakis here and because you were involved in blackmailing Mr Horton. Additionally you get sued because of deformation by Mr Horton."

Nick snapped. He looked at Gaby who didn't look back at him. She was staring at the wall and there was no emotion on her face. Will knew what she was going through, realising her husband isn't what he pretended to be all these years.

"Are you going to file a report, Mr Kiriakis, Mr Horton?"

Will looked at Sonny. They knew what the other was going to say before they spoke. Will saw it in Sonny's brown eyes. He saw the same what he thought. He saw no thought of pay-back, no grudge against Nick.

As they both turned around to face the judge Sonny spoke for both of them.

"No."

It was so strong and determined that the judge didn't question that. Maybe she didn't understand the decision however she didn't look surprised. She nodded and moved on.

"Coming to the custody of you, young lady."

The judge looked sympathetic at Ariana.

"That is actually almost all up to you."

Ariana's face trembled. Will knew she was caught off guard and hadn't expected to be asked for her opinion. He saw her looking at him and he winked at her just to tell her he was fine with whatever she was going to decide.

"I was actually thinking about it. And … as much as am angry at my parents, I … I mean I grew up with them... and as much as …. I mean I really want to get to know Will and Sonny … I want to continue living with mom and dad … ehm Nick."

Will wasn't shattered at all in this moment. He knew he had won Ariana's trust. And she wanted to get to know him. And that was all that mattered. He smiled at Sonny.

"Well, that made my job a lot easier. Mr Horton here as visitation rights, being the biological father."

Will smiled at Ariana and was so happy to see his smile being reflected back in her face. He had a feeling of them growing together. Of them maybe even developing a kind of father-daughter relationship. He was just so incredibly happy, flying on cloud nine, having all his loved ones around him.

Sonny opened the door and threw his keys to the side. Will knew this move. He knew it well. Without hesitation he pressed Sonny against the wall and kissed him passionately. He felt their tongues wrestle. He felt the fire sneaking up his skin, from wherever Sonny touched him. He felt his hands sliding down his back, sliding into his back pockets. And while Sonny tried to open his belt he fiddled around at Sonny's shirt all buttoned up. As he felt Sonny's skin under his fingertips he knew they weren't going to make it to the bed room.

"I missed you."

Sonny said as he lay his head on Will naked chest. Will had his eyes closed but he could basically see Sonny cuddling himself into him. He smelled his hair, saw his eyes, his hair, his body in front of his inner eye.

"You mean when I was stuck in prison or did you miss me the last 17 years?"

Will smiled a little though he thought that there was nothing funny about the way he was the last years. How Sonny stayed with him was still a miracle.

"You noticed?"

Sonny sat up, creating a disturbance in this moment. Will sighed and opened his eyes. His hands reached out, reaching Sonny's knee. While Will thought about what he what he should say he draw patterns with the tip of his finger on Sonny's knee.

"Sure I noticed. I noticed that you got more carefully around me. I noticed that you looked at me differently. You behaved like I was fragile. And I knew that I wasn't myself but I couldn't stop it. I … I tried, honestly. I tried all those times but I couldn't."

Sonny stared at him before he pressed a short, strong kiss against his lips. Next he stood up, standing on the carpet Will still lay. Will looked at Sonny when he was going to the fridge getting a water out. He smiled and saw Sonny opening and closing his mouth like he was talking about something. Will didn't care about the things Sonny said. He was just glad to see him saying something.

"Sonny?"

Will interrupted Sonny, who turned around at looked at him, eyes filled with surprise.

"When I get into my next hearing …"

Sonny was too quick in interrupting Will. He hushed before kneeling back to the floor.

"You won't get back to court. You won't..."

"Sonny! Stop it! I was going somewhere totally different."

Sonny became immediately silent.

"When I have my next hearing I was thinking about doing it as Mr William Robert Horton-Kiriakis."

Sonny was still silent. First there was no emotion going over his face when suddenly his eyes got bigger and Will saw his face lightening up. He could see pure joy in his hazelnut brown eyes, in his smile. That's when Will knew what Sonny's was about to say.


	21. Chapter 21

_**Thanks for everyone you reviewed my story, for everyone who read it. I hope you enjoyed it though it wasn't too lovey-dovey (i find love scenes somehow very hard to write in Englisch) - THANK YOU ALL - means the world to me that you read what I bring down. **_

**Epilogue:**

"I now pronounce you married in the eyes of the law. You may kiss each other."

With the kiss started the jubilation. Cheering and clapping filled the room. Ariana was looking to Sonny and Will and suddenly felt all war inside. She was so happy that she was here, able to witness this.

Later, when everyone sat down and the soup was about to be served Ariana stood up. She carefully hit her spoon towards the glass, she raised.

"Hi."

She had to clear her throat. She had practised this speech in front of her mirror many times over the last couple of months but standing here, where everybody could see her, she felt her knees getting weak.

"When Sonny asked me to hold a speech I didn't know what to say. And that was mostly due to this man over there, who made it very clear, he wanted to hold the only speech. And as I learned over the past months, you should be scared of a DiMera."

She raised her glass to Chad, sitting across the room. She saw his smile. Will chose him to be his best man and she had heard a lot of stories about Chad and his family.

"As you know, I arrived in this family only half a year ago and it wasn't going as smoothly as I hoped it would. But maybe that is the Horton blood in me."

She stopped, giving the audience a moment to smile, laugh or dwell in memories.

"In that six months I learnt a lot about Will and Sonny. I learnt how loving both of them were. Even after I got Will into jail, into court and afterwards rejected him as my legal guardian, I still was welcomed as warm as I had never imagined. I wasn't raised that way, you should know. I was raised believing that there are different kinds of love. I was raised to separate love by the people who love. When I saw Will hugging Sonny at the court I knew that everything I had learned had been wrong. There can't be a separation between kinds of love. This love over there," she was know directly addressing Will and Sonny, looking into their eyes. "is the love I dream of. A love where both go through heaven and hell without losing sight of each other. It is a love where one puts the other one first, even though it means to step a back. This is a love that stayed strong for over 17 years. It is a love not limited to two persons only. The moment Sonny opened the door and saw me on that doorstep, he let me in. And already at the next moment it felt right. I felt home. Will and Sonny haven't only found love but also have they found home. Please raise your glasses to Will and Sonny. Please raise your glass to their love. Raise it for my two dads!"

Though her last words caused chattering throughout the room, she heard people shouting 'To Will and Sonny'. Happily to have finished this speech she said down.

"I knew you could make it."

Dylan next to her, reached for her hand and raised it to his lips pressing a kiss on the back of her hand.

She shook jokingly the head. She looked at him, smiling. Thats when she pointed to her lips.

"You need to kiss me here, idiot."

Dylan laughed and kissed her. It was a passionate kiss but one that was suited to this environment. It was the first time she had Dylan brought with her. Will and Sonny had known about him for several weeks know but this was kind of a test whether he could deal with her family.

Suddenly she heard a cough. Dylan abruptly ended the kiss and stood up, giving Will and Sonny the hand.

"Congratulations, Mr Kiriakis and Mr Horton."

Sonny and Will smiled at Dylan. Ariana looked at them eagerly, trying to figure out their next move. When Will and Sonny didn't say anything else she raised one eyebrow. That was it? This awkward situation?

"Your girlfriend here thinks we are weird. Please call us Sonny and Will."

Sonny smiled at Ariana's boyfriend. Dylan seemingly relieved breathed out and sat down again.

"Not so quickly, here Sonny."

Will bowed down hugging Ariana.

"That was a wonderful speech, thank you, so much." He whispered in her ear and she heard that he was close to tears.

"Being Ariana's 'dad'", he stressed that word, letting Ariana know how grateful he was for that little gesture, "I will find you when you break her heart, I hope you know that."

Will said with a voice not even close to his. It was so strict, that Ariana immediately knew that it was just a joke. But Dylan not knowing Will as well as she, didn't know it one bit. She saw that he looked worried.

But Sony just tapped Will's shoulder, leading him to turn around.

"Sorry to destroy your illusion but you are probation. There won't be any 'finding anybody' too soon, honey."

He lay his chin on Will's shoulder, looking straight to Dylan. He winked, telling Dylan that they were just joking around, playing with him. Dylan who got the gesture punched Ariana slightly in the upper arm.

"It's your luck that I have a husband who takes that good care of me."

"For forever and always, Mr Horton-Kiriakis. You won't get rid of me any time soon."


	22. Author's note

No sorry, this isn't a new chapter. But I am currently working on another WilSon fic... Anyway... I am writing to tell you how grateful I am for all the reviews and I haven't said that in a while... Somehow the Emails want to spam and I didn't check that folder for long... SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. IT IS INCREDIBLE HOW MUCH LOVE YOU GAVE ME!

Lots of love back xxx


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